The Nansen International Centre — An example of successful Russian-Norwegian Cooperation

Minister of Education and research Øystein Djupedal's speech at Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre in St. Petersburg, 18.09.06.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very glad to be here at the Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre. I have already heard so many good things about your work, and I look forward to learn more. Let me first congratulate you on the EU’s research prize, the Descartes Prize, which was awarded to the project “Climate and environmental change in the Arctic”. I understand that this centre made important contributions to this very topical project.

This is my first visit to St. Petersburg. I have not yet had time to see very much of your city, but I have seen enough to say that it is beautiful. I have also experienced a warm welcome; this morning at the Baltic State Technical University, and now here. What better way to start off than to visit two institutions which are great examples of successful cooperation between our two countries!

Norway places a very high priority on international cooperation in research and higher education. Russia is a very important country for us in this respect. We have singled out Russia as one of the countries we wish to see increased cooperation with. Today such cooperation is right at the top of our political agenda, as the High North is one of the government’s main priorities.

The cooperation between our countries covers much more than research and higher education. But these fields play an important role also in other policy areas. This is certainly true within the areas of climate and environmental change. These areas will be central elements in the effort to secure a sustainable development in the High North.

Svalbard is already an important arena of cooperation between Russian and Norwegian researchers in these fields. We are now approaching the International Polar Year 2007-2008. This will provide opportunities for extensive international cooperation within polar research. Norway will play an active role, and I trust that this major research event will further enhance cooperation between Russia and Norway.

We are both oil and gas nations. The oil and gas industry in particular needs to base its operations on a sound foundation of knowledge to secure a sustainable development. To make sure that we are good keepers of all the rich resources of the region, both research and a high level of education are necessary within a wide range of fields related to the environment.

It is also very important that countries in the High North have a common foundation of knowledge on which to base policy development. This is especially true when we are faced with a challenge like climate change, which knows no national borders. Climate research is a priority area in our policy. Cooperation with Russia is central, because we share common interests and face common challenges. These are related both to our efforts to secure a sustainable oil and gas industry, and to the responsibility to protect the environment and deal with the impact of climate change.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the former US vice president Al Gore during his visit to Oslo. Together we watched his documentary, “An inconvenient truth”, which treats the subject of climate change. It is thanks to the kind of research you do here at the Nansen International centre that we now have scientific evidence of climate and environmental change that the world can no longer ignore. The work that is done to raise people’s awareness of this issue is very important.

I believe that the type of cooperation we see at this centre can help develop a common knowledge base to the benefit of both our countries. Therefore it is a realization of the ideal in international research cooperation of a win–win game.

This seems to be true of The Nansen International Centre in several respects. The centre offers Russian researchers and Ph.D. graduates opportunities for scientific development in their home country. It also offers Norwegian researchers the chance to benefit from the expertise of their Russian colleagues, and from your strong traditions within the natural sciences.

I suspect that Russia, as well as Norway, is at risk of losing excellent researchers to other countries where either the research communities are larger or the facilities better, or to be frank, where there is more money. I am pleased to see that you have succeeded in creating a stimulating research environment here through international cooperation.

In addition to the academic results, such cooperation fosters network-building, friendship and common understanding across borders and cultures. This holds for all fields of science.

My government aims to establish a climate of friendly collaboration between different countries and cultures in order to find solutions to the common challenges of our times. The spirit of cooperation at this centre plays a part in this bigger picture. In light of the extensive cooperation that already exists in the High North, we have a very good starting point for a positive development. Now we wish to make the bonds of cooperation even stronger.

I said that we place a high priority on international cooperation in Norway, and one reason for this is quite selfish: we gain from it. International cooperation promotes quality in research, and increased quality is another central aim in our research policy.

As you know we have strong research groups in Norway working within your field, climate change. But all scientists and research groups benefit from international cooperation. Such cooperation provides new perspectives, and sometimes the solution to a problem is only found when people from different cultures and scientific traditions work together.

In this sense science can play an important role in bringing together societies with conflicting views and interests. At the Nansen International Centre, researchers from the East and the West have worked together since 1992, when a new era of openness and cooperation had only just begun. Today the centre is well established and have obtained impressive results: I know that the Descartes prize carries a very high prestige.

I believe that this centre is an excellent example of the fact that research cooperation can have double benefits. On the one hand the advancement of science, and on the other the development of trust and a common understanding of our challenges. This is vital if we are to use science to find good solutions to common problems. And we need the aid of science, in all disciplines, to secure a sustainable, knowledge-based and innovative development in our societies.

I am pleased that my ministry will be making a financial contribution to the centre in the years from 2006-2008. I look forward to excellent results from the Nansen International Centre in St. Petersburg also in the future!

Thank you for your attention.