A boost for Norwegian-Indian cooperation
Research and innovation are high on the agenda as plans are being laid for future cooperation between Norway and India. His Majesty King Harald of Norway and His Excellency President Pranab Mukherjee of India were among the participants at a seminar on research and innovation in Oslo on 14 October 2014.
The seminar was part of the programme for the first-ever State Visit to Norway from India. Some 250 participants from research and higher education, trade and industry, and the political sphere met under the auspices of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) to discuss expanded cooperation between the two countries.
Close cooperation can be enhanced
Speakers from both countries said that research cooperation between Norway and India has been highly productive for many years, and that they would like to see even greater cooperation in the future.
In his remarks to the assembly, Minister of Education and Research, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen stated that Norway's objective to develop world-class research and innovation groups cannot be achieved in isolation. He went on to say that India is a key player in the global research arena on which Norway will be so dependent in the future.
Mr Røe Isaksen pointed to the recent award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology to May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser of Norway, along with John O'Keefe of the US and UK, as an example that a small country like Norway can produce internationally leading researchers and research results.
New Memorandums of Understanding
Norwegian and Indian partners signed a total of nine Memorandums of Understanding (MoU). Two of them were signed by the Research Council of Norway's Director General, Arvid Hallén, and representatives from India's Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The MoUs involve planned bilateral funding announcements in the areas of polar research, geohazards and health.
In his remarks at the seminar, Mr Hallén drew attention to a recent bibliometric survey which shows that Norway enjoys productive cooperation with India, but that the potential for further development is great. "Research is an inherently international undertaking, and India's significance as a research partner for Norway is growing. Today we have signed Memorandums of Understanding that are important to both our countries," said Mr Hallén.
You can find a list of all Memorandums of Understanding on: http://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Newsarticle/A_boost_for_NorwegianIndian_cooperation/1254001102049/p1177315753918.
