Nærings- og handelsminister Dag Terje Andersen

Indo-Norwegian Maritime Cooperation Forum

Statement from the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mumbai, India 31 ^st> of October 2006

Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure for me to be here today.

I think there is great potential for increased cooperation between the Indian and Norwegian maritime sectors.

The maritime tradition goes back centuries in both our countries. Experts believe that the world's first tidal dock was built here in India on the Gujarat coast 2000 years BC. Indian ship building skills have also been recognized for centuries. While the Scandinavian Vikings were known for their ships design and notorious bows, the explorer Marco Polo gave a sturdy description of Indian ships in 1292 when he said that they were "built of fir timber and caulked with iron nails.”

Today the maritime cooperation between India and Norway is flourishing. As we speak more than 30 ships are in the pipeline or being built here in India on orders from Norwegian shipowners. Several Norwegian maritime companies, such as Odfjell, have established their own offices in India. And the Norwegian company Wilhelmsen is recruiting some of their crew from India.

At the same time, Indian companies are buying Norwegian vessels. Great Offshore is for instance buying an offshore vessel from the Norwegian yard Aker Brattvåg.

I believe that closer cooperation in the maritime sector will benefit both our countries. In that regards I hope that we can make progress in the process of reaching a bilateral maritime agreement between India and Norway.

The maritime industry is booming all over the world. And the maritime sector plays a crucial role for the Norwegian economy.

The Norwegian Government has selected the maritime industry as one of its five priority areas.

Last Friday I opened the Norwegian Maritime Center of Expertise in Møre. This particular maritime cluster is a cornerstone of the Norwegian maritime industry. The Norwegian cluster contains the whole maritime value chain, with ship-owners, ship design, shipyards, suppliers of ship gear, research, education and finance. The new center will stimulate transfer of knowledge, entrepreneurship and internationalisation between these different actors

Next year I will present a national maritime strategy. This strategy will form the basis for the Government’s future maritime efforts. One important element will be maritime research and innovation. The continuous development of new, improved products and services are important in order for the industry to remain competitive. The new X-bow, by the Norwegian company Ulstein, is a newly designed ships bow somehow similar to that of the old Viking ships. This design is a good example of innovation that will contribute to taking the maritime industry into the future.

Research and innovation depends on knowledge, or in other words: highly competent personnel. The recruitment of competent seafarers therefore continues to be a top priority.

Today, shipping carries more than 90 per cent of world trade. This is largely due to the fact that it is a cost-effective, clean, secure and safe mode of transport. Despite this, the industry still faces several challenges with regard to the external environment. We need to work together on an international level in order to ensure that high standards are maintained through international rules and regulations. This is particularly true when it comes to enhancing the safety- and environmental performance of the industry.

In order for Norway to remain a large maritime nation, it is important for us to further develop our shipping industry. However, we cannot do that in a vacuum. We need to have a global outlook. We need demanding customers. And we need to cooperate with qualified and competent maritime companies.

I feel certain that this seminar today will contribute to a further strengthening of the cooperation between the Indian and Norwegian maritime sector.

Thank you for your attention!