Greeting at 20th Anniversary of Ruhrgas Scholarship Programmes

Es ist mir eine grosse Freude, bei dieser traditionellen Veranstaltung der Ruhrgas AG hier im Munch Museum teilzunehmen.

Heute feiern wir, dabdie Ruhrgas Stipendien-programme schon seit 20 Jahre laufen. Ich gratuliere der Ruhrgas AG zu dieser Leistung.

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A good friend of mine once said, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

As Prime Minister of Norway, I know the value of education and a good school and university system. I know the value of research and development. I also know how much it costs to run these activities.

Ruhrgas, as a successful multinational German company, knows how to earn money. But you also know that you have a responsibility to give something back to society.

You know that ignorance is expensive, and you have made it clear that you are willing to invest in knowledge.

For the past 20 years, Ruhrgas has been demonstrating its commitment to Norway as well as its strong sense of corporate social responsibility.

Since 1984, more than 1000 Norwegians and Germans have participated in the different Ruhrgas Scholarship Programmes. Several hundred Norwegian students and academics have thus been given the opportunity to study or do research at leading German universities and research institutions.

In addition, numerous academic conferences and seminars have been held, laying down the foundation for new relationships and sometimes even lifelong friendships.

This has all been made possible by the very generous support from the Ruhrgas Scholarship Programmes.

There is no doubt that this has been of immense benefit to the bilateral relations between our two countries, and at the same time – I hope – a very good long-term investment for Ruhrgas.

Germany is our most important trading partner and a close ally. The political contacts between our two countries are frequent and very close, and are often founded on personal ties as they were during the years of Willy Brandt.

Energy and natural gas are of course vitally important sectors, and play a major role in our bilateral relations.

German companies are important both as buyers of oil and gas and as licensees on the Norwegian continental shelf. Ruhrgas stands out among these as the largest buyer of Norwegian gas. It was also one of the very first companies to buy Norwegian natural gas, and has now been purchasing large amounts of natural gas from Norway for 27 years.

Ever since the 1970s, when our natural gas sector was in its infancy, Ruhrgas and other companies have entered into long-term contracts to buy natural gas. This has helped to make it economically viable for Norway to develop its offshore fields and gas transportation systems.

So Ruhrgas has always been an important partner in securing a stable outlet for natural gas produced on the Norwegian shelf.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

As the well-known economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “Wealth is not without its advantages.”

At Ruhrgas you have chosen to spend part of your wealth on education and knowledge, thus sharing its advantages with many.

It is an honour for me to take part in the celebrations of the 20 ^th> anniversary of the Ruhrgas Scholarship Programme.

I would like to congratulate you on your achievements, and hope that the programme will continue to be as successful during the next 20 years as it has been until now.

Finally, I know many of you are also looking forward to the award ceremony for the prestigious Willy Brandt Prize later tonight. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate this year’s winners, Prof. Dr. Heiko Uecker and Mr. Jostein Gaarder.

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Abschließend möchte ich einfach nur feststellen, daß sich die Ruhrgas Stipendienprogramme als wichtige Träger in den norwegisch-deutschen Beziehungen etabliert haben.Das ist schon eine Leistung der besonderen Art für ein Stipendienprogramm!

Dankeschön.