* Check possible changes during presentation

Admiral Perowne, General Frisvold, distinguished guests,

It is a pleasure for me to host the dinner at this Symposium on NATOs Future Transformation and Multinational Experimentation. The focus of the conference is most interesting and highly relevant. I do hope this dinner tonight will be a nice social contribution - enabling better contact and understanding between all of you attending – representing academia, research and development, industry and military affairs.

I would like to applaud the work that has been carried out by United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) and HQ Norwegian Defence Command in order to make this symposium a great success. Your achievements are in itself a good example of successful multinational co-operation. The Symposium is of particular interest both to me personally and to the MOD in general.

As Minister of Defence I am responsible for initiating the most comprehensive Norwegian defence reform since the Second World War. In June, our Parliament – Stortinget made the final decisions on our new Long Term Plan. This Plan includes a defence reform that is both dramatic and historic. Our key challenge is to redress imbalances pertaining to the relations between the costs of running the peacetime establishment and available resources; as well as bringing force production plans in line with new priorities of defence tasks.

I have been attacked both from officers in the armed forces and old warriors that the reform has gone too far, and I am tempted to quote Sir Basil Henry Little-Hart (britisk militærteoretiker): "The only thing harder than getting a new idea into the military mind, is to get an old one out".

Among the objections from the opposition is the claim that I have focussed too much on international task and relations at the sacrifice of national needs. Not surprisingly however, during the preliminary work with our reform it early became evident how closely interlinked the transformation of our national Armed Forces is with the broader transformation of NATO. The Defence Capabilities Initiative (DCI) is a key element in our reform, offering major capability guidelines for our national contribution to Allied defence.

We all know that the success of the DCI depends on firm commitments from nations in terms of multinational funding, and on willingness to co-operate more closely. Multinational solutions should be rigorously pursued. For smaller countries in particular, like Norway, enhanced co-operation within a multinational framework often represents the only realistic option to acquire key military capabilities identified in the DCI process. I welcome the work on multinational solutions that has been established. I can assure you that Norway will take an active part in the work to find multinational solutions to meet specific requirements. Pooling of resources and modular approaches are causes in point.

In a longer perspective it will also be of great importance that DCI provides alternative methods for capability development. I welcome Concept Development and Experimentation (CDE) as a forward looking, practical tool and an institutional solution to military modernisation. While DCI describes the critical capabilities, CDE offers an unconventional method for how to develop them. Thus, CDE will be a radical contribution to the more established Force Planning Procedures.

Norway early adopted the new method and organised a Norwegian Battle Laboratory. The Battle Lab has already carried out successful tests and will continue to provide support to the modernisation of our Armed Forces.

For Norway the Oslo Symposium represents an excellent opportunity to introduce CDE to our national defence establishment. However, the main significance of this seminar is unquestionably the multinational (and interdisciplinary) setting. I am sure that the ideas from this Symposium will help all participants, civilian as well as military, to contribute more effectively in transforming the future Allied Defence.

Let us now enjoy the evening and keep up the good work………tomorrow. Skål!

Admiral Perowne, General Frisvold, distinguished guests, thank you for your attention.