Lankapuvath

NORWAY

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island . Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 4.9 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait, across which Denmark is situated. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

Facts & Figures

Norway is a constitutional democracy in Northern Europe with a population of 4.8 million inhabitants.

Head of State:                His Majesty King Harald V of Norway
Head of Government:            Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Area:                    385 199 km²
Population (2009):            4 799 252
Population per km² land area:     16
Capital city:                 Oslo
Language:                 Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk)                                 (In some districts, Sámi is also an official language)
State Church:                 Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran)
GDP (2008):                 NOK 2 548 billion (€ 295,2 billion)
GDP (per capita, 2008):         NOK 534 440 (€ 61 915)
Currency:                 Norwegian kroner (NOK) 1 krone = 100 øre
Constitution Day:             17 May
Population growth (2008):         1.3
Average life expectancy (2008):     Female: 83 years Male:  78 years


King : Harald V of Norway

Harald V (born 21 February 1937) is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991. The son of the then-Crown Prince Olav and of Princess Märtha of Sweden, Harald was born at the Crown Prince Residence at Skaugum, Akershus, Norway.
A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, originally from Northern Germany, Harald became the first Norwegian-born prince since Olav IV, who was born in 1370. Harald V is the formal head of the Church of Norway and the Norwegian Armed Forces. He has two children, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise. His grandchildren are Maud Angelica (2003), Leah Isadora (2005), Emma Tallulah (2008), Princess Ingrid Alexandra (2004), and Prince Sverre Magnus (2005).

Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg

Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001.


President of the Storting: Dag Terje Andersen

Dag Terje Andersen (born 27 May 1957 in Frogn, Akershus) is a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. In addition to professional politics he has been working at a steel mill and as a lumberjack, something that has given him a reputation for representing the average guy in politics.

Sri Lankan-Norwegian relations
Message from Ambassador Hilde Haraldstad
 
The 17th of May is the National Day of Norway. Norwegians celebrate the day to honour the Norwegian Constitution of 17th of May 1814, which later paved the way for our independence. The day is marked in Norway and by Norwegians all over the world, to celebrate freedom, democracy, peace and, after a cold winter, the coming of spring.
 
Norway has been a partner and a friend of Sri Lanka for many decades, starting with development cooperation forty-five years ago. We have been involved in numerous programmes and fields over the years, ranging from Rural Development in Hambantota and Moneragela, to fisheries in Jaffna and many parts of the country. We have been supporting the Chambers of Commerce, funded vocational training for plantation workers and others; rebuilt religious sites after the tsunami; funded Buddhist peace studies Academy in Kandy and given humanitarian assistance to the people of the east and north after the war. Our total investment in the country amounts more than USD 800 million, which with today’s exchange rates is equal to some Rs 90 billian.
 
As a result of the strong and solid nature of our relationship, Norway was asked to assist in the peace process at that time, an intense and challenging time in our bilateral relationship. To this day, the friendships and relations between our two countries remains strong, close, and many faceted. The positive meeting that took place in New York last fall between my Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapakse is a prime example of that.
 
Norway still enjoys extensive development cooperation with Sri Lanka. In addition to many ongoing projects in the south, support to demining, resettlement and livelihood in the north have also been given priority over the last few years. Gender balance and womens rights are high priority and important in all that we do. These days we are also exploring an exciting possible future cooperation on climate change with the Ministry of Environment.
 
The business ties and private sector cooperation between Sri Lanka and Norway are strong and increasingly important in our relationship. The Embassy is pleased to actively promote such a development. In under a year, a business delegation from Sri Lanka has visited Norway, similarly a group of some 25 representatives from the Norwegian fisheries sectors visited Sri Lanka in order to explore possibilities for joint ventures. It all took part under the much acclaimed Norwegian Matchmaking program, where the goal is to facilitate cooperation between private sectors in our two countries.
 
I am also indeed  pleased with the way cultural relations between our two countries have developed, in particular the music cooperation. Several concerts and workshops with Norwegian and Sri Lankan musician have been held over the last year, all over the country. Several Sri Lankan musicians have also visited Norway as part of the program. In March of this year Jaffna Music Festival was a unique event with its special focus on folk music and with participants from all over the country and from abroad. Norway is also supporting other cultural expressions in Sri Lanka, like literature, drama, art and dance, and we are working with Ministry of Culture on preservation of folk music and organizing workshops on copyright. A particular pet project of mine is the undertaking where libraries all over the country have been upgraded. A key component is mobile units; trishaws loaded with books bringing literature to the most remote parts of the island.
 
Let me just also mention the exciting student exchange program that is going on. Last week we had 30 students from Norway, Sri Lanka and other countries at the Norwegian Embassy, visiting Sri Lanka under the cooperation at master level between Ruhuna University and Agder University in Norway on development studies.  This week the students are enjoying the hospitality of host families in Hambantota.  We are currently planning the establishment of an alumni forum, inviting all Sri Lankans who have studied in Norway over the years to attend – realising they are quite a few, several hundreds actually. I have already met many during my travels - some of them even speak Norwegian.
 
On this occasion of my country’s national day celebration, and this year’s special and important Vesak celebration in Sri Lanka, let me emphasize my sincere and best wishes for Sri Lanka’s future and our bilateral relations. It is a privilege to celebrate this day in Sri Lanka, my first as Ambassador. It is a crucial time and a time of great opportunities for this country, to secure peace, reconciliation, development and future stability. Norway remains committed to support Sri Lanka in its endeavor to prosper and develop in the future.


Business Match-Making Programme

As Sri Lanka strengthens its position as a middle-income country, the content of the relationship between Sri Lanka and Norway is changing. Traditional elements such as development cooperation will gradually be reduced, whereas cooperation between equal footed institutional partners and business is increasing. Commercial ties are and will be increasingly important in the future.

Norway has a healthy business relationship with Sri Lanka where Norwegian investment is an integral part. Many of these are taking place through the Sri Lanka–Norway Industrial Cooperation. Often referred to as the Match-Making program, this undertaking has been an integral and significant element of Norwegian development cooperation in Sri Lanka for more than 15 years. The objective of the program is to establish sustainable and profitable joint ventures between Norwegian businesses and companies from Sri Lanka.  Norwegian technology, knowledge, products and services are utilized to increase business activity in Sri Lanka. And, Sri Lankan knowledge and expertise help facilitating Norwegian companies in their productions and marketing. The collaboration contributes to increased profitability for companies in Sri Lanka and in Norway. The Match-Making program ventures into a whole series of different sectors, such as IT, toys, garments, tea, tourism, leather and furniture.

In addition to assist individual companies in doing joint ventures in Sri Lanka, there have been interesting opportunities made available in the promotion of clusters. For the last 3 years delegation visits have been organised. Recently a business delegation from Sri Lanka travelled to meet potential partners for business development discussions in Oslo. The industry sectors selected for participation were renewable energy, ceramic ornaments, specialized rubber products fibre glass boats and accessories, waste to energy management, engineering and sewage treatment systems. Also group of Norwegian companies working with fisheries and fish-related industries met with partners in Sri Lanka to explore the prospects of getting a closer cooperation with boat manufacturers and fishing industry. The participants are all contributing to enhance the commercial ties between Sri Lanka and Norway, building a stronger relationship between the countries.

Under the Match-making program, Norway offers valuable support in the start-up as companies are searching for partners and throughout the process of establishing joint ventures. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is the collaboration partner in sourcing and assessing potential collaboration companies in Sri Lanka, and for making arrangements for the corporate visits.

The objective of the Match-Making Program is to increase business activity and sustainable growth in Sri Lanka. In its fourth program period, it is safe to say that the Match-Making program has been a great success; to date more than 100 matches have been made, of which more than 70 are still ongoing. And several more are to come – hardly a fortnight goes by without the Norwegian Embassy is having a visit by a Norwegian company looking for business opportunities in Sri Lanka.


Fighting Climate Change

Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges facing the world today. The global climate is already shifting, and according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the warming trend that has been observed during the past 50 years may largely be ascribed to human activity. A rise in the global mean temperature may affect precipitation patterns and wind systems, shift climate zones and raise the level of the oceans. Such changes may entail major consequences both for natural ecosystems and for society. Today we know enough about human-caused climate change to take action; the longer we wait, the greater will be the burdens on and costs to future generations.

This is why Norway is an active partner internationally to fight climate change. The Norwegian government, in its climate change policy, has decided do its utmost to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, both at home and abroad. The Norwegian objective is provide a substantial contribution to the overall goal of limiting the average rise in global temperature to no more than 2°C above the pre-industrial level. Combining economic growth with low carbon economies is a basic principle of Norway’s policy on climate change. Norway intends to cut the global emissions equivalent to 100 percent of its own emissions within 2030. This way, Norway will become a carbon neutral nation by 2030. About two-thirds of the cuts in emissions would be made at home. Norway will undertake to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 30% of its own 1990 emissions by 2020.  Norway will strengthen its Kyoto commitment by 10 percentage points, corresponding to nine per cent below the 1990 level.

Norway also recognizes that the challenge of global climate change can only be met through global political will. It is fully committed to and is a strong supporter of multilateral approach to tackle climate change. Norway has been instrumental in contributing to the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). The initiative seeks to achieve cost-effective and verifiable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and applies to all types of tropical forests. For this initiative it has allocated over USD 500 million a year.

In Sri Lanka, Norway is in dialogue with the Ministry of Environment with the aim to establish a Programme for Capacity building of Sri Lanka’s key stakeholders on Climate Change for effective implementation of Climate Change Impact Adaptation and Mitigation programme.


The Nordic bumblebee

Too big for its own wings, the Nordic economic model shouldn’t be able to fly, yet it does. World leaders want to know why.

In the 1990s, many right-wing economists pronounced the Nordic economic model dead. But rumors of its demise were premature: Today, the “Nordic paradox” is attracting great interest all over the world.

The Nordic paradox is rather like the bumblebee: The bumblebee’s wings are too small for its body, so it shouldn’t be able to fly. But it can, and now we understand why. The Nordic countries have high taxes, strong unions, generous welfare systems and large public sectors; it shouldn’t work, according to economics textbooks. But despite the financial crisis and the economic downturn, the Nordic bumblebee keeps flying.

Could a system that seems designed to fail be a blueprint for success?

World leaders are looking for success stories in the wake of the financial crisis. One success is China. Another is Brazil. In Europe, the Nordic model has clearly come out on top.

Why? No country can copy our model in its entirety. But the rest of the world has noted some key features and wants to understand the Nordic paradox better.

The Nordic countries have demonstrated greater ability to change than the rest of Europe. We adopt new technology faster, are more flexible, have low unemployment, and have on the whole been spared protracted labor disputes.

In the Nordic countries, there is extensive consultation at all levels of society. We have enjoyed a good balance of power since an important class compromise was reached in the 1930s: The labor movement renounced revolution, and the business sector realized that it needs workers. As a result, cooperation has developed between government, trade unions and the business sector.

Nordic societies emphasize equality. There is not as large a disparity in pay between unskilled workers and highly qualified professionals as elsewhere. Women participate in the labor market at a much higher rate in Nordic societies, in large part because the government has taken on considerable responsibility for care of children and the elderly. The economy is more dynamic when both halves of the population participate.

Meanwhile, the Nordic bumblebee has to navigate through various difficulties. We need to adapt quickly to a green economy. China has survived the financial crisis better than any other country; will it tackle the climate crisis better, too? Will the Nordic countries be nimble enough to grasp the opportunities a green economy offers?

People are looking to the Nordic countries in hopes of finding good examples of Western democracy. Our key to success is our willingness and ability to adapt. This depends on a robust safety net provided by the welfare state. It is this paradox that is attracting such interest: How is it possible to combine social and economic security with a dynamic and innovative business sector?