There Is Potential for Development of the Bilateral Trade and Economic relations

HE Rolf Baltzersen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway

HE Rolf Baltzersen was born on November 28, 1941. He majored in Russian with German and English as subsidiary subjects. Post-Graduate Certificate in Education. He started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972. Over the years he has been Junior Executive Officer NATO Office; Executive Officer MFA, Senior Exec. Officer MFA, Head of Division Eastern and Central Europe Office; Assistant Director General MFA Joint Section Administrative Department; Director Governmental Action Programme for Eastern and Central; Deputy Director General Department for Trade and Internationalization Europe. Diplomatic assignments: Second Secretary of Embassy NATO Delegation, Second Secretary of Embassy in Hague, First Secretary of Embassy in New Delhi, Minister Counsellor in Moscow Embassy, Minister London Embassy. Since 2001 he is Ambassador of Norway to Bulgaria.

Your Excellency, this year Norway celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Kingdom's independence. Tell us more about it?
What you describe as the “Liberation of Norway” happened to be a peaceful separation from Sweden in 1905. The union between Norway and Sweden was established in 1814 when - as a result of the peace of Kiel - Norway was taken away from Denmark and handed over to Sweden. But it was a loose union. The two kingdoms had the same monarch and a mutual diplomatic service. Not much more.

By the 1890s Norwegian politicians demanded that Norway should have its own diplomatic service and a separate consular service. An additonal complication was an increasing protectionism in Sweden which had a negative effect on Norwegian economy. The conflict situation went as far as to make Norway and Sweden ready themselves for military action. Negotiations led to nothing. The Norwegian national hero Fridtjof Nansen wrote a series of militant newspaper articles about Norwegian national honour and the need for immediate action.

In May 1905 king Oscar II vetoed the bill passed by the Norwegian parliament, providing for the establishment of a Norwegian consular service. The Norwegian cabinet refused to countersign the veto and handed in its resignation. Prime Minister Michelsen argued that according to the Norwegian Constitution, the King could exercise his royal functions only through a cabinet approved by the parliament, which he now lacked. Therefore he was no longer King and the union had ceased to exist. On June 7 the parliament declared the union with Sweden dissolved.

Both Norway and Sweden sought to gain the support of the Great Powers in Europe. Norway sent Nansen to Great Britain, where he helped win over British support and sympathy for Norway's position. Traditionally, Sweden had a good relationship with Germany, so concentrated its efforts there. But none of the Great Powers wanted to get involved in a war in Scandinavia.

On this background Sweden demanded that the Norwegians hold a referendum, and that conditions on the dissolution of the union be negotiated.

The Norwegians voted 368,208 to 184 in favour of breaking up the union. Though women did not have the right to vote, about 250,000 Norwegian women signed a petition that supported the break up.

During the negotiations on the conditions in Karlstad, Sweden, the situation grew very tense. Both Norway and Sweden began military mobilisation. But in the end the negotiators agreed to what would be called the Karlstad agreement.

The agreement represented a compromise. It established a demilitarised zone. The new border defences built by the Norwegians had to be dismantled, but the Swedes agreed to allow historic sections of the fortresses Fredriksten and Kongsvinger to stand. With this, all obstacles were removed to make possible a formally correct dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. On October 16 the Swedish parliament voted to recognise Norway as an independent nation, and on October 27 the Karlstad agreement was finally signed and Oscar II abdicated the throne of Norway.

What was the status of the people living in today's Norway 100 years ago?
After 1814 with the beginning of the union with Sweden Norway experienced the worst economic depression it had ever suffered. The common market with Denmark was dissolved and the British market was closed to Norwegian timber. Mines and sawmills lost foreign customers. Many of the wealthier middle class citizens in south east Norway went bankrupt. The crisis was hard and long.

From the 1830s, however, Norway enjoyed a period of economic buoyancy, which led to freer trade and customs regulations. Also in other ways Norway started to take part in general developments in Europe. The foundation for modern industry in Norway was laid in the 1840s, with the establishment of the first textile factories and engineering workshops. Between 1850 and 1880 the size of the Norwegian merchant fleet increased drastically.

In 1905 Norway was still a very poor, peaceful, mainly agrarian country on the periphery of Europe. There were substantial natural resources, but very little investment capital available. When the union with Sweden was dissolved Norway was enjoying a period of economic growth, which lasted right up to World War I. The population grew rapidly and the employment situation eased. This was a result of the second phase of the industrial revolution, which in Norway was characterised by the exploitation of cheap hydroelectricity, and foreign capital investments. For the first time in Norway the electrochemical and electrometallurgical industries were built up, and new products appeared on the market. Major concerns such as Norsk Hydro were established and a number of new industrial centres sprang up. Despite the economic progress made in Norway, a large number of Norwegians emigrated to the United States around the turn of the century.

How could be explained the fact that 100 years later the Kingdom of Norway is among the most prospering countries in Europe?
It is fair to say that energy has to a large extent laid the foundation for Norway's membership in the club of the rich ones. Norway is today one of Europe's main energy suppliers. It started with the hydroelectric power. We are blessed with abundant rain and snow. The water of rivers is converted into electric power. And this cheap hydroelectric power was essential in creating the foundations for modern Norwegian industry. This development occurred at the same time as Norway got its independence. It so happened that a this time there was a lack of natural fertilisers. Two Norwegians developed a method of producing artificial fertiliser from air. Their company, Norsk Hydro, was founded with French capital. And it should be noted that the Norwegian industrial sector was to a large extent dependent on foreign investors. When most important rivers had been used for energy purposes, Norway received a new boost: oil and gas. Petroleum activities on the Norwegian continental shelf have generated enormous revenues. And in addition Norway has a broader economic base than most other oilproducing countries. For instance fishing, one of Norway's oldest industries, has retained its position as an important export industry. Farmed salmon accounts for about one third of fish exports. Norway sells a variety of seafood to 150 countries. Japan is our biggest individual market.

Today Norway can be described a highly developed, industrial country with an open, export-oriented economy. It is listed as one of the richest countries in the world, but it has also achieved top-rankings with regard to standard of living, life expectancy, overall health and housing standards. As I have already mentioned the high level of material wealth is partly due to an abundance of natural resources. It is also very important that Norway is situated close to major markets. Extensive trade and contacts with other countries have given Norwegian industry a foundation on which to develop an advanced economy. High investments in production equipment, improved and extended education as well as technical and organisational expertise in industry and public administration have also helped to promote growth.