Opening of Business Forum

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to be the first Norwegian Prime Minister to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan – this fascinating and beautiful country. I remember with great pleasure the important visit of President Nazarbayev to Norway three years ago.

Kazakhstan is a new market for Norway, but an increasingly interesting one. Your economy is growing at an impressive rate, and this is creating many new opportunities, both for you and for us. I hope that these opportunities will materialise as a flourishing long-term business partnership between our two countries.

Proof of Norway’s growing interest in Kazakhstan is sitting in front of me here today. The Norwegian delegation accompanying me has more than 70 prominent representatives of Norwegian companies. All of them are looking forward to conducting a dialogue, making further contacts, and promoting our relations.

At my meetings with President Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Akhmetov yesterday we agreed that there is a clear potential for further investments by Norwegian companies in a number of economic fields. How to achieve this is one of the main objectives of today’s seminars. A key condition is the existence of stable and predictable rules and regulations for foreign investment. This is a decisive factor for Norwegian companies’ international investment strategies.

I believe the Kazakhstani Government has been very successful in introducing economic reforms. An important further step is membership of the WTO. Membership will do much to strengthen Kazakhstan as an international economic partner. Norway supports you in your ambition and we look forward to initiating bilateral negotiations and to welcoming Kazakhstan as a new partner in the WTO. The size of Kazakhstan, its rapid economic development and future WTO membership will all contribute to releasing your country’s considerable economic potential.

My Government’s main goal for trade and industry is to stimulate creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in the private sector.

This entails closer co-operation between research and development institutions and commercial companies. Particular support is being given to entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises with the will and the potential to grow. A viable SME sector is of enormous importance both to Norway and to Kazakhstan, and I know that the development of this sector is one of the issues that will be discussed later this morning.

Innovation and technology transfers are also common features of the other business fields to be discussed during today’s seminars. In the energy and telecommunications sectors, Norwegian companies are playing a leading role world-wide in terms of technological development. I am pleased to note that several of these companies are interested in developing co-operation with Kazakhstan.

Research and development is the most important source of innovation. We need to stimulate new ideas among entrepreneurs and new businesses, but even more, we need to encourage already established companies to develop innovation strategies. A good example is the rapid advances taking place in the Norwegian oil and gas industry. Through targeted research and development efforts we have managed to overcome the many technological challenges and obstacles posed by the Norwegian continental shelf.

During the last 30 years, Norway has become a major producer and exporter of oil and gas, and today we are the third largest exporter in the world. Kazakhstan too looks set to become an increasingly important exporter of petroleum.

We are eager to share our expertise with Kazakhstan. The experience and know-how of Norwegian companies can do much to promote the growth of your oil and gas industry. We hope to increase our co-operation on developing your country’s energy resources, both on the Kashagan oil field and elsewhere.

Global dependence on energy is likely to continue to increase. Needless to say, this puts countries like Norway and Kazakhstan in a favourable position. It is important in this respect to remember that this prospect not only represents major opportunities, it also brings with it considerable responsibility. Combining the role of major energy producer with that of a frontrunner on environmental issues and safety is not always an easy task.

Since discovering petroleum on the Norwegian continental shelf 40 years ago, we have always emphasised the need to carry out petroleum activities in harmony with other economic activities, such as fisheries.

The Norwegian government has created a special fund for managing the revenues from our oil and gas resources. The Kazakhstani government has now set up a similar fund, based on the Norwegian model. The main objective of the Norwegian fund is to ensure that future generations enjoy the same level of welfare when oil and gas production declines and for the day when it ceases altogether. We have also proposed a set of ethical guidelines for the management of the fund.

However, no country can live only on the revenues from petroleum and other natural resources. In Norway there is an ongoing debate on how to diversify our raw material-based economy and create a more knowledge-based society. The ability to adapt to this new challenge and remain ahead in the field of technology is more essential than ever before.

Information and communication technology plays a very important part in a modern economy. I am pleased to note that this sector is being emphasised today. Norway has several leading companies world-wide in information technology, and we want to support new contact networks and co-operation between Norwegian companies and their equally well-qualified Kazakhstani counterparts in this field.

Norway and Kazakhstan have been developing their business relations for several years now, and we have a sound basis on which to build further. The mining sector is a new and interesting area. With 50 per cent of Kazakhstan’s industrial production taking place in this sector, there is a great potential for co-operation. Norwegian companies have broad experience in supplying advanced equipment to the mining industry.

Both the Norwegian and Kazakhstani companies present here today have a global approach to developing their businesses. In this era of globalisation, multinational companies are playing a major economic role in most countries of the world. In this situation every company, whatever the sector, must act as a responsible global citizen. Governments, consumers, shareholders and the general public are more alert than ever before, not only to environmental concerns, but also to human rights issues. Thus, international companies not only have a moral obligation, but also an economic interest in promoting social progress and opposing human rights violations. Good ethics is good business!

It is no longer a viable option for companies to claim that "we do business, not politics." I expect Norwegian companies are fully aware of this. And act accordingly.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I welcome the positive developments in trade and investment between our two countries. This impressive gathering of Norwegian and Kazakhstani business representatives is a clear reflection of this.

We have much to gain from strengthening existing commercial partnerships. And from developing new ones.

That is one of the main purposes of my visit to Kazakhstan.

We are here this morning because we have a common goal – the further development of economic relations between Norway and Kazakhstan. You are in the best position to identify concrete opportunities. You are in the best position to transform them into successful partnerships.

I will be following your work with interest.

Thank you for your attention.