Official visit to the US: Business Summit

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning!

Two hundred years ago today – on 9 October 1825 – Lars Geilane of Stavanger arrived here in New York with his family. As captain of the sloop Restauration, he had been responsible for the safe passage of 52 fellow Norwegians during the rough three-month voyage. The ship’s arrival in New York marked the start of organised Norwegian immigration to the US – which we are celebrating here today.

Like so many others over the years, Lars Geilane was seeking a better future in this land of opportunity. But unlike many later Norwegian immigrants – who settled further west in your country – Lars Geilane chose to make his home in Rochester, New York, where he raised a large family and established a successful boat-building business. By the time he died 20 years later, his pioneering voyage across the Atlantic had inspired thousands of other Norwegian immigrants to follow in his wake.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we come together here today to further strengthen business ties between the United States and Norway, we are following in the footsteps of Lars Geilane, who sought – and found – business opportunities and partners right here in New York.

During the 200 years that have passed since the Restauration and its Norwegian passengers docked here, the ties between our two countries have grown very close.

More than four million US citizens today have Norwegian ancestry.

Many Norwegians feel a close connection to the United States. This is also true of my own family. My father spent five years here as a young boy during the World War II. He came to view the United States as his second home. I came to the US as a student in 1996 – and spent some formative years of my life here. And 24 years ago, my wife and I chose to spend our honeymoon in New York and Montauk.

This iconic city continues to attract and fascinate so many of us.

Business ties between our two countries are well-established and strong. Goods and services now move back and forth across the Atlantic at a scale and speed that would have stunned the passengers of the Restauration.

Norwegian companies and investments support thousands of jobs in the United States. We are close partners in the energy, maritime, defence, seafood, materials and minerals sectors, among others. And Norwegian architects have proudly been involved in shaping urban spaces such as the former World Trade Center site, Times Square and pedestrian zones in the Meatpacking District.

US dynamism is also felt at home in Norway, and not just via popular culture or major global brands. Four hundred US companies, small as well as large, employ thousands of Norwegians across the country, in sectors ranging from heavy industry, oil and gas, to technology and electric vehicles.

The people you will meet here today are at the cutting edge of many of the industries and services that can make both our countries more sustainable, more productive and cleaner.

I hope that all of you will find something that lights a new spark today.

Something that makes you want to add another chapter to the long tradition of US-Norwegian cooperation and business development that began when Lars Geilane docked his vessel in New York City 200 years ago.

Something that inspires you to launch a new business venture that holds new prospects for the future. I wish you all the best.

Thank you for your attention.