Norwegian Ambassador to Poland Sten Lundbo talks to Dena Gurgul.

What does Polish-Norwegian cooperation look like today?
Bilateral relations between Poland and Norway are excellent. This was confirmed during the state visit which President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and his wife paid to Norway on Sept. 16-17. It was actually the second time King Harald V received a state visit from Poland—the first was President Lech Wałęsa’s in 1995. The exceptional fact that there have been two state visits from Poland to Norway during the reign of King Harald V confirms the excellent nature of our bilateral relations. They are very close—politically, economically, culturally and militarily.

During World War II, Polish soldiers fought in Norway in the city of Narvik against the Nazis. Thanks to this, Poland has a special place in the hearts of the Norwegians. Since Poland became a member of NATO in 1999, we have developed close ties in the military field. There is a bilateral agreement according to which Norway will transfer to Poland five Norwegian submarines, four of which have already been delivered. Furthermore, Norwegian officers are present in the Polish sector in Iraq.

When Poland and the other candidate countries, enter the European Union on May 1, 2004, they will at the same time become part of the European Economic Area, which at present consists of the 15 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Between the EEA member countries there is a free movement of capital, services, persons and goods, except in the areas of fisheries and agriculture, in which there are special rules. This will strengthen cooperation between Norway and Poland. First of all, unlike some EU countries, Norway will open its labor market to Polish workers from day one without a transition period. Secondly, there will be two financial mechanisms within the framework of the EEA, and a total of more than 120 million euros will go from Norway to Poland every year. In this context, I will refer readers to the article entitled “Playing by the Rules” on page 7 of this supplement. In terms of culture, an exhibition of modern Norwegian art entitled “In the Norwegian Forest” will be on display at the Zachęta gallery Feb. 12-March 28. Norwegian is taught at the universities in Gdańsk, Poznań, Toruń and Warsaw, and there are more than 400 Norwegian students in Cracow, Poznań, Szczecin and Warsaw.

The market for fish in Poland has been cornered by Norwegian salmon. What is the situation of other Norwegian products in Poland?
In terms of salmon, 90 percent of the salmon on the market comes from Norway, but there are two other seafood products which are very important. First of all, about 50 percent of the herring consumed in Poland is from Norway, along with 70 percent of the mackerel. These are the two other main products, apart from the export of shrimp, which we are trying to increase. The interesting point about herring and mackerel is that these products are processed in Polish factories, thus providing jobs for Polish workers. Some of these products are exported from Poland to Australia and the United States. Aside from fish, we export half a billion cubic meters of gas from Norway, according to an agreement that was signed in 1999 and will continue until 2005. There is contact between Statoil and PGNiG, exploring the possibilities of a new agreement on the import of Norwegian gas. I am confident that the Leszek Miller government endorses the policy of diversification of gas imports.

Could you talk about cooperation in the field of ecology between our two countries?
First of all, Norway has been a member of Ecofund since the year 2000. We are one of six members of Ecofund. It involves a bilateral agreement between Poland and Norway on the implementation of a debt-for-environment swap and provides for the conversion of 10 percent of Poland’s debt to Norway, or approximately $20 million.

The environment was also one of four priority areas in what was called the Action Plan, that the Norwegian government initiated in 2001 to help Poland and other EU candidate countries. As a result, we have begun a number of projects in Poland in the area of the environment. More importantly, the environment is also an area that is specified for projects to be undertaken under the EEA financial instruments. I see great possibilities for expanding our cooperation in this field.

Norway actively supports the equal status of men and women. Together with the Polish government commissioner for gender equality, your country organized a conference on this topic in June. Are there any further plans in this area?
We organized this conference at the Radisson SAS Hotel, which was a very successful meeting with broad participation from representatives from all over Poland and in all walks of life, so to speak. Under the Action Plan, we have supported a number of Polish NGOs working in this field. As you can read in a special message in this supplement on page 6 from Laila Dˆvøy, the Norwegian minister of children and family affairs, our bilateral cooperation on gender equality will continue.

Will you be spending your Christmas holidays in Poland?
Our family will spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in Warsaw because my wife and I spend the entire summer vacation in Norway. We like living in Warsaw, and it is nice here during Christmas time. Our eldest son is arriving from Scotland, where he works for Shell, and our youngest son lives here, working on a novel.