“Norway wants to work more closely with trusted allies such as Canada to ensure we have robust options in the areas of artificial intelligence, large language models, and digital tools tailored to our needs,” says Karianne Tung (Labour Party), Norway’s Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance.

The commitment to closer collaboration follows from constructive discussions between the two ministers on digital autonomy, digital sovereignty, and the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Among other things, Norway and Canada are aiming to increase the practical cooperation on safety in AI models, adoption of AI in the public and private sectors, AI infrastructure, and research on quantum technologies.

Read the full statement here.

This bilateral collaboration in the digital sphere is part of a broader partnership with Canada across a wide range of areas.

This was one of several topics of discussion during the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent visit to Norway. In addition to meetings with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, a summit was also held between Carney and all five Nordic prime ministers.

At the same time, Norway is considering joining the Sovereign Technology Alliance – an alliance founded by Canada and Germany to advance shared technological capabilities and reduce reliance on external technology providers.

The alliance was established to address the need to improve the members’ technological competitiveness, reduce strategic technology dependencies, and ensure the safe and responsible development of artificial intelligence. These goals align with the Norwegian government’s priorities and are high on its agenda.