Ladies and gentlemen,

Despite my busy schedule as a Minister of Finance, I try, from time to time, to put the job aside. I try to make room for more exciting and enjoyable things other than just money and budget. Recently I have enjoyed culture, gastronomy and festivity on the west coast. Last week I had the pleasure of having dinner with the Statoil leadership in Stavanger. With Charles Tjessem as the sovereign chef in the kitchen you all can imagine that it was a gastronomical feast. Wednesday I attended the opening of the Festspillene in Bergen. And today we are gathered in Ålesund for the opening of the three days InnoTown-festival. All these happy events make me almost forget that Oslo, the budget and the Parliament exist….

We go through a tough economic phase in Norwegian economy, like all countries around us. Economic growth is low, the unemployment rate is rising and people and firms are insecure about the future. People ask: “How can we preserve jobs?”. But that is just half of the question we ought to ask. We must focus on: “How can we create jobs?”. The problem is not that jobs disappear – the problem occurs when jobs are not created. That is our main challenge.

I am not here, at the InnoTown festival, “by accident”. I am here because I think that more than ever before, we need to focus on innovation and creativity. We must, to steal InnoTown’s slogan, “move our minds”. We can do so by interacting with each other.

We move our minds when people from different branches and professions meet.

We move our minds when we are able to learn from the past and prepare for the future.

And we move our minds when national borders are not looked upon as barriers.

Some consider globalisation to be an evil thing. I don’t. Globalisation has made Norway a prosperous and rich country. Today time has come for developing countries to benefit more from more integrated world trade. Indeed, the poorer countries have increased their revenues relative to the richer ones. And fewer people today live in extreme poverty than only ten years ago. But still we must not be content, because more countries should profit from further integration. Challenges must be met by international cooperation, not in isolation.

Innovation happens only when people dare to take risks, thereby exposing themselves to losses. Generally, I think that we Norwegians can improve our mentality towards entrepreneurship. We should welcome the success of entrepreneurs, and encourage “crazy” people with “crazy” ideas. You may excuse me, Dag Lausund and Cecilie With, but I will mention you in this context…. You started InnoTown a few years ago, because you dared to take a chance and realize your ideas. If I have understood you right, you dived into this because you wanted to emphasize the importance of “opening up”. Although Norway is a good country to live in, we need to look beyond our borders and learn from others if we want to remain well off. I fully support you – and I hope your contribution through InnoTown will help us to “move our minds”.

As the Minister of Finance, I am often asked: “What are the branches of tomorrow? Where should I put my money?” Or - from students: “What should I study to be ready for the future?”. My answer is clear cut: “I don’t know!”. Politicians know little about who tomorrow’s winners will be. I therefore urge you to be aware of politicians who want to spend your money – your taxes and your pensions – in risky business. Politicians do not have a clue about this! Did Nokia succeed because the Finnish Parliament decided so? Or because a Finnish public study suggested that a mediocre producer of wheels and TVs should start producing cellular phones? No, clairvoyant business men and women, who moved their minds and dared to take risks, created the Nokia success!

But: Politics and politicians play an important role. It does matter what politicians decide. I am proud to represent a Government which focuses on innovation and growth. We do so by improving the framework within you operate:

• Taxes are reduced by about 20 billion kroner in two years. Without these reductions, firms in this county (Møre & Romsdal) would have had to pay more than half a billion kroner more in taxes every year. And more is to come. This autumn I will present a tax reform, with the purpose of improving the international competitiveness of the Norwegian tax system.
• The Government implements reforms to our education system, in order for children and youth to be as prepared as possible to meet “real life”. We also increase spending on research and development, because we think that knowledge and high competence are fundamental keys for Norway in a more global economy.
• And finally, we deregulate and liberalize. We believe in competition, and want private sector to meet less bureaucracy and more possibilities in the future. Therefore, the growth of public expenditures is kept at a historically low level. The result is clear: Interest rates have dropped by 2 percentage points since December and the Norwegian kroner is less strong. I know how this is appreciated, especially here in Ålesund.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour to talk to such a distinguished group of innovative, creative, visionary and – you may excuse – “crazy” people! You are all very important in order to make us all understand the importance of learning from each other. Every town in Norway should, in this context, be an InnoTown!

Looking at the program for this festival, I am certain that you will have three tremendous days in Ålesund. Be aware – these days will “move your mind”. With this warning, I hereby declare the fourth InnoTown Festival open!