The Prime Minister's introduction at the press conference at President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Oslo

As delivered (checked against delivery)

M. le Président, cher Emmanuel, aujourd'hui la Norvège a recu un ami, un partenaire, un allié.

It is a great pleasure for me to host the French President in Norway today – the day before we meet at the NATO Summit in the Hague, in a world that is full of uncertainty and turbulence – and then, it is good to have partners, to be able to run through the current affairs that affect both our countries. – The big transitions we are in, from an energy perspective, from a technological perspective, from a security perspective.

And I would simply like to highlight that never in modern years have Norway and France been closer. We are commemorating today also the Battle of Narvik, back in 1940, when France came to Norway’s support; that is always an event to remember, to highlight how we have been allies and partners before. We are taking that partnership into the modern challenges that we face.

So, today, the fact that we are signing a comprehensive strategic partnership is important. It covers all the major areas where we need to work together. – So, that comes from the political orientation down to the very concrete that has been signed on carbon capture and storage, a theme that you and I, Mr President, have worked on together for the last three or four years, bilaterally, but also in Europe, in the European Union, in the broader setting of how we take forward our work to limit climate change, and at the same time develop industry, and at the same time create jobs.

We meet at the National Museum; art is also at the heart of what many Norwegians associate with France. So, museum collaboration, literature collaboration, film collaboration; all of this is important for people.

And, let me finally say that both Norway and France take a particular interest in the future of our oceans, of the polar parts of our world, and the responsibility we have to mitigate and to do everything we can to put the world on a safe path.

It is not a coincidence that we are following the Paris Agreement from 2015 and Norway is setting its targets for its climate obligations together with Europe, as a part of European undertaking, and I am very happy to see that France is such a good partner in that.

So, President Macron, cher Emmanuel, it is good to have you here – and I look forward to the follow-up.