vision
47
www.northeastvision.co.uk
north east
Ports, Marine
and Offshore
we are just over an hour away we can pull on our
strengths. It will be interesting to see if we can do
something for both regions.
"We have the headquarters of all the technology
and energy research companies located here, we
have Norway's only oil refinery and have plans to
build a new centre for carbon capture, testing two
different methods. In 2006 we were named a
regional centre for expertise in subsea � with
more than 100 companies operating in education,
research and development in order to be stronger
worldwide."
A healthy research cluster also makes Bergen a
major European power centre in maritime
education. It is also a world-leader in marine
biology and oceanography, marine resource
management and climate research.
James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the
North East Chamber of Commerce says: "It's an
exciting area for us from a number of different
angles.
"Scandinavia as a whole is a virtually untapped
market and the obvious port of call to the UK is
the North East. The new Eastern Airways link
should help enormously. We have tried to make
links with Norwegian businesses in the past � and
Scandinavian businesses have always wanted to
gain a foothold into the UK through the North
East.
"I'm delighted they want us to take up the
challenge and a link with Bergen is a fantastic
opportunity to do that."
The inward investment team at One North East
has had part-time representation in Norway since
2003, enabling it to build up significant links with
key players such as Innovation Norway, Selskapet
For Industrivkst (SIVA) and IT Fornebu.
One North East inward investment and
aftercare manager, Patrick Kendell, says: "It is
welcome news that businesses in Bergen are keen
to establish links within the North East as the city
is a key element of One North East's strategy to
land inward investment from Norway.
"The agency has made great strides in recent
years creating business relationships in Norway,
particularly in oil and gas engineering, and we are
keen to develop this successful relationship
further."
Hans Martin Moxnes believes the North East can
provide the right skills at the right price, plus the
social similarities are uncanny, with live televised
English Premier League football as good a reason
as any to take it easy on a Saturday afternoon.
"There are a lot of Sunderland supporters in
Bergen," he says. "We like to watch the football
and drink Guinness. Our Chamber members are
always open for business opportunities. Bergen
companies are really good at that � we're known
as `Bergen, Best For Business'.
"We have a carbon capture programme which
our prime minister Jens Stoltenberg calls the
Moon Landing project. We have 5% of
the world's fishing market � even the
technology used to catch fish is
Turn to
48
WISH FOR CLOSER TIES Hans Martin Moxnes, chief executive of the Bergen Chamber of Commerce.
GETTING NEARER Eastern Airways has launched a 95-minute Newcastle to Bergen route.
The strong message from
a recent trip to Bergen
was that while they were
open for business, we had
to come and get it

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