OSLO, September 15 (Itar-Tass) — The 90th anniversary of the establishment of official trade relations between Russia and Norway falls due this year. A reception was held in this connection at the Russian trade mission in Oslo, one of the five oldest trade missions Soviet Russia opened abroad. Representatives of the economics ministries and business people of the two countries discussed prospects for further development of cooperation.
“Our countries are neighbors, having common border, and because of the geographic position we had contacts in a number of areas for a long time. These are, certainly, fisheries, shipbuilding, northern trade,” Tamara Chernyshova, the head of the mission, told Itar-Tass. The interest in cooperation reawakened in the recent decades, particularly in the extreme north, she said.
“The delimitation of marine expanses in the Barents Sea that was completed after 40 years of talks means that a new epoch begins,” she said. “The Arctic question is in the order of the day of world politics. There exist mechanisms of constructive cooperation in the region, and Russia and Norway are definite leaders.”
According to Norwegian business people, there exists a large potential for the development of bilateral partnership in shelf development of mineral resources, in transport and in tourism. They regard setting up joint ventures as the most acceptable way of cooperation in large science intensive projects.
Norway at the same time is engaged in developing a strategy of cooperation with Russia between ministries. Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Trond Giske said earlier that the five growing economic leaders BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) now mean for Norway a new important guide for further development of trade relations.