Visit to Nice: Side event hosted by The Nordic Council of Ministers

Your Royal Highness,

Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you everyone, for interesting presentations and discussions. I believe many of us learned a lot – I know I certainly did.

Listening to you here today, I am reminded of how dependent we all are on the ocean – not least the Nordic countries. The sea feeds us. Enriches us. Connects us – and as we have heard today: We have common opportunities and common challenges that we can only solve by working together as a Nordic community.

As we have heard, the vast sea areas surrounding the Nordic countries are among the most productive in the world, providing an important basis for our food security, nutrition, energy, transport, jobs and cultural identity.

The Skagerrak – the strait running between Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden – contains some of the world’s busiest shipping routes. At the same time, it is home to vulnerable and unique marine ecosystems.

Today, marine life in the Skagerrak is under threat.

However, there are some bright spots:

Today we have heard how increased Nordic cooperation and better coordinated marine management can both protect the environment and increase value creation.

We are already reaping the benefits of joint research, innovation and lessons learnt across the Nordics. This is really good news, and continuing to work together is the only sustainable way forward.

We need collaboration between public authorities, industry and researchers so that we can turn the tide on biodiversity loss and enhance the resilience of ecosystems to climate change.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The projects presented here today, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, clearly demonstrate the value of regional cooperation. With regard to both knowledge development and management of common resources.

I wish you all every success in your continued efforts for our oceans.

Thank you.