Norwegian State Secretary Morten Høglund was present during the official opening of Norway’s ASEAN-Norway Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee (AN-JSCC) in Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday 11 December.
‘This opens new possibilities for both ASEAN and Norway,’ said the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Mr. Høglund and representatives from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry attended the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) prior to their visit to Jakarta. The agenda of the visit to Indonesia is to promote Norwegian business and trade with the ASEAN-region.
‘Being an ASEAN partner is very important for Norway’, says State Secretary Morten Høglund. It will allow us access to important political arenas and enhance the opportunities for Norwegian companies in Southeast Asian markets.
The AN-JSCC will be the key driver in the Norwegian partnership with ASEAN in the coming years. Norway was accepted as a sector dialogue partner to the organization at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in August 2015 in Kuala Lumpur.
ASEAN-Norway Partnership that is action-oriented, mutually beneficial and forward-looking, and comprising political and security cooperation, economic cooperation and socio-cultural cooperation including, but not limited to, the following areas:
Political and Security Cooperation
Economic Cooperation
Social and Cultural Cooperation
Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)
The parties have agreed that the implementation of measures will be funded by the Norwegian ASEAN Regional Initiative Fund.
ASEAN has ten member states with a total population of around 620 million. In 2014, the ASEAN countries – taken together – were Norway’s fourth largest trading partner and home to the highest concentration of Norwegian companies operating abroad.
Source: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok, ASEAN
