”Norway-Brazil: Tradition, Trade and Technology Cooperation”

Your Highness Princess Ragnhild, Your Excellency Governor Cabral, Your Excellency Governor Hartung, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be here on my first visit to Rio de Janeiro.

People have told me that it is a beautiful city, but it is impossible to understand just how beautiful before you see it for yourself.

Yesterday my wife Ingrid and I enjoyed the breathtaking view from Sugar Loaf Mountain, and all I have heard about Rio is really true.

It is also a great pleasure to meet with Governor Cabral and Governor Hartung, who run two of the most dynamic and important states in Brazil.

Norway and Brazil are different countries, but there are many things that link us together.

One example is bacalhau.

We share the same ocean.

And Norwegian ships sailed these seas. First to harvest the fish. Then to bring the fish to Brazil. And after that to bring coffee back to Norway.

Brazil is the second largest export market for Bacalhau. With almost 200 million Brazilians enjoying it.

And Norwegians are among the top coffee drinkers of the world. Too bad for the Brazilian coffee farmers that there are only 5 million Norwegians.

Bachalau is important in the Brazilian diet.

Fisheries has been the basis of existence for the coastal population of Norway for centuries.

And the export of fish was the birth of Norway as a trading nation.

So it is a delicious dish, but it is also a very powerful symbol of how countries are linked together.

Today it is still the sea that links us together.

This morning, I attended a breakfast seminar on technological cooperation in the offshore sector. I am confident that our partnership in this field will evolve further.

I have also enjoyed an interesting visit to Aker Yards Promar. And I am looking forward to opening the Norwegian pavilion at Rio Oil and Gas later his evening.

Our partnership is not just limited to the sea.

More than 70 Norwegian companies have established subsidiaries in Brazil in all kinds of sectors.

Her Highness Princess Ragnhild and her husband Erling Lorentzen were among the first. And they paved the way for others to follow.

I would like to pay tribute to their efforts in promoting Norwegian-Brazilian relations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Seafood Export Council and the Chamber of Commerce for hosting this lunch and for your important efforts in promoting Norwegian companies in Brazil.

And I would like to raise my glass and propose a toast to the excellent trade and business relations between Brazil and Norway. May they continue to grow!