Today (3 May 2017) Chief Executive Jorge Domecq welcomed Mr. Øystein Bø (State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence of Norway) to the EDA for productive talks focused on further enhancing EDA-Norway cooperation. As a non-member of the European Union, Norway signed an Administrative Arrangement with the EDA in 2006, and is now actively involved in a range of EDA projects and programmes. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to access progress on EDA-Norway cooperation as well as investigate areas where cooperation could be expanded.
Mr. Domecq welcomed State Secretary Bø by expressing his deep appreciation for Norway’s involvement and support to the EDA through Norway’s overall commitment to cooperation with the agency. As an example of this cooperation, Mr. Domecq highlighted that almost all the actions agreed between the EDA and Norway during his meeting with the Norwegian Minister of Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide in January 2016 have been concluded. One of the most concrete actions has been the successful secondment if a Norwegian expert to EDA who leads EDA’s work on CBRN R&T.
Before the meeting began, EDA Project Officers presented State Secretary Bø with selected EDA capability development projects, offering an opportunity to demonstrate the work that the EDA is currently undertaking in CBRN, SESAR and Cyber.
Norway has a long standing and deep participation in EDA activities, most notably in Air-to-Air Refuelling (Norway signed in February 2017 together with Belgium and Germany a Declaration of Intent confirming that it will sign the MMF MoU in 2017), GOVSATCOM which Norway is now officially participating in, also equally involved in projects and programmes related to C-IED such as JDEAL and CBRN. Furthermore, as a full member of the European Tactical Airlift Center (ETAC), Norway will participate in EAATTC (Tactical Airlift Training) 17-4 in Zaragoza this September. However most prominent involvement of Norway in EDA’s work is its active participation in projects and programmes in the field of research and technology.
Speaking at the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Domecq commented; “I am delighted to have welcomed State Secretary of Norway Øystein Bø to the EDA for positive and forward looking discussions. I am particularly grateful for Norway’s participation and contribution to the EDA. The cooperation we have built has been very fruitful and also serves as a model for EDA’s cooperation with partners. I believe we can look forward to developing new ways to enhance cooperation with Norway.”
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