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Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Herzlichen Dank für die Einladung.

Es ist mir eine große Freude, heute bei Ihnen zu sein.

Zunächst möchte ich der Botschafterin herzlich dafür danken, dass sie uns ihre Residenz für diesen Abend zur Verfügung stellt, auch wenn sie heute leider nicht persönlich dabei sein kann.

Macht euch keine Sorgen – I will continue my speech in English.

My German is still not quite up to standard for a full speech.

But I do have a fiancée from Germany – we are getting married next year.

And, so, maybe next time I come to visit, my German will be fluent.

Germany and Norway share a close and longstanding relationship.

We are partners, allies and friends. And – importantly in a fraught world – we are united by common democratic values and a shared commitment to international cooperation.

In these times, it is especially important that Europe stands united.

I am happy to see all of you here today, doing yours to build and support the strong relations between our two countries.

Because: It is not only through formal agreements we form strong relations between countries.

It is just as important to have informal meeting places – to have trust, dialogue and people-to-people connections.  

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Dear friends,

We need that trust and dialogue more than ever today.

We are living in an increasingly dangerous world: a longstanding war in Ukraine, a war in Iran, volatile financial markets.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has said that “Europe is in a fight”. A fight, she says, to keep Europe together, as a peaceful continent – free, democratic and independent.

Earlier this month, Peter Magyar won the Hungarian elections. The Norwegian prime minister spoke to him a few days later, saying it is good news for Norway that Magyar wants a closer relationship with the EU and Nato.

It is good news, because we need all of the EU and Nato to stand together: the EU and Nato are still vital for Norway and Germany and Europe.

And I know, and appreciate, that Germany plays a special part in keeping Europe and the EU together.

Germany is at the heart of Europe. Germany takes responsibility. For security. For the economy. For energy.

“Energiwende” is one of the most ambitious industrial undertakings in history. It will take time. But it is slowly producing results. And it shows the scale of Germany’s determination.

In my former role as Norwegian Minister of trade and industry, I was in 2023 part of signing a comprehensive partnership agreement between Norway and Germany for renewables and green industry.

At the time, we said that “it has been a long time since Norway was so important for Germany, and Germany so important for Norway”. Since 2023, that importance has only increased. Our energy cooperation is essential for both of our countries, and for Europe.

And just this February, Norway and Germany signed a historic defence agreement. We signed it because Europe needs to take more responsibility for its own security, within the framework of Nato.

The agreement sees Norway buying submarines and tanks from Germany. And working closely together while having the same submarine systems in both countries.

Norway was last year, in fact, the second largest importer of German arms, only behind Ukraine. And German forces regularly exercise in Norway, including during the massive Nato Cold Response winter exercise last month.

So, our two countries share a lot. Historically, we have always been linked – I only need to mention a person like former German chancellor Willy Brandt, who briefly even held a Norwegian citizenship.

And today, we are linked closer than ever before.

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Dear friends,

What does all of this mean for healthcare?

Well, the pandemic is another example of a crisis were Europe stood together.

It reminded us that we are all connected, and our safety and security is interdependent. It also reminded us that health is not only about treatment and care. Health is also about resilience and international cooperation.

The same goes for long-term healthcare questions, were our two countries share many of the same challenges: ageing populations, growing pressure on services, need for more healthcare professionals.

But we also share many of the same opportunities: an excellent science base, innovative industry, highly competent and digitally savvy staff, patients and populations.

Last year, my then German counterpart Minister Karl Lauterbach and I signed a health partnership between Germany and Norway, to emphasise our shared ambition to use our opportunities to address these challenges.

The partnership gives us a clear framework for practical cooperation and exchanging experiences.

And I am pleased that the partnership has since received political endorsement from my current German counterpart, Minister Nina Warken. 

I am convinced that our partnership will help us both to provide services to our citizens, improve health preparedness – and, importantly, strengthen connections between health industry actors in both our countries.

That was the goal when we signed the partnership: to intensify political cooperation at a ministerial level – and cooperation between institutions, specialists, researchers and industry.

The partnership covers four main topics:

  1. The effect of climate change on health and health systems
  2. Strengthening European health preparedness and responsiveness
  3. Promoting mutual interest in global health

And, 4th, today’s main topic: the role of digitalisation, technology and AI in improving health services and health systems performance.

***

From a Norwegian perspective, we have a longstanding commitment to use digital tools to promote quality and equality in healthcare.

Partly that is by necessity. Norway is a sparsely populated country, with mountains and fjords and long distances. We therefore need digital public services to reach everyone.

Our focus is now on technologies that enhance efficiency and save time.

And we see AI as an important part of the solution.

One particular policy I would like to highlight, is our stated goal of a single, digital entry-point for public health services.

You can call it our “gemeinsamer digitaler Zugang” policy.

We are fortunate enough to have “Helsenorge”, our national health portal, which all Norwegian citizens have access to.

Through our “digital front door” initiative, we are working to expand the services offered on “Helsenorge”, by adding self-help tools, health apps, AI-supported digital advice and triage services.

We want everyone to be able to get their appointments, test results and “everything else”, in the same place.

And – importantly – we know that people sit at home and ask Google and ChatGPT about their symptoms and health issues.

Our response to that, as a government, could be to say “No, don’t do that”.

But we believe a more fruitful approach is to offer government-backed services: science-based and authoritative.

***

Now, when it comes to German-Norwegian cooperation in digital services, my most important message is that we have to continue our dialogue, like we are today.

Because: Digital transformation is not easy.

Technology does not solve everything on its own.

We also need good organisation, strong leadership and competence.

The future of healthcare will not be shaped by technology alone.

It will be shaped by how we choose to use the technology – in ways that improve services, support health professionals and strengthen trust.

I am regularly in contact with German health politicians.

This spring, I had the pleasure of welcoming a delegation from the German Parliamentary Health Committee.

We have also established a strong working relationship at the administrative level of government, through several workshops on policy development.

And, in August, our ministry in Norway will receive a delegation from the Federal German Ministry of Health.

I know that my team is looking forward to welcoming their German colleagues and discuss projects from both countries.

***

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me end on this note: For Norway it is of great value to work closely with a country of Germany’s scale, capacity and ambition.

Germany is a key European partner for us – in technology, innovation and health system development.

And that is also why networks like this matter. The future of German-Norwegian cooperation will be shaped not only by governments, but also by the ideas, initiatives and relationships represented in this room.

Vielleicht gilt heute mehr denn je: Wir lernen voneinander. 

Vielen Dank. Ich freue mich auf das Gespräch.  

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