UK and Norway agree major new energy partnership

UK prime minister David Cameron and Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg have agreed a landmark energy partnership between the two countries designed to secure affordable and sustainable long term energy supplies.

Named the Norway-UK Energy Partnership for Sustainable Growth, it will see closer collaboration between the two countries across a wide range of energy activities including renewable energy investment and international climate change policy development.

In addition both UK and Norwegian companies have announced billions of pounds of new investment with the potential to create thousands of new jobs.

‘The jobs and investments announced today highlight how vital the strong relationship between Norway and us is for our energy security and economic growth,’ says Cameron. ‘We look forward to strengthening our partnership further, driving investment into a diverse, sustainable energy mix that delivers affordable long term supplies for consumers.’

Charles Hendry, the UK minister for state for energy, recognised the long-standing relationship between the two countries as ‘valuable and trusted’ and cited the investments and potentials jobs announced by individual energy companies were ‘a clear signal as to the benefits of this partnership’.