Translated material
Not everything is gold
Dmitry Medvedev convinced Norwegian investors that Russia is rich not only in raw materials
Three cannon shots outside the Royal Palace in Oslo heralded the start of the state visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The welcoming ceremony was discreet in a northern way. Even the Russian anthem, performed by a Norwegian military band, sounded without the usual imperial notes. King Harald V of Norway, his wife Queen Sonja, and Princess Mette-Marit were waiting for the Russian president and his wife on the square in front of the palace. The king and Prince Haakon Magnus, who met the Russian leader at the airport, were in military uniform. Only the queen dressed brightly for spring - in an orange coat and a blue hat. The princess wore a pearl-gray summer coat and a matching hat. Svetlana Medvedeva, who arrived at the welcoming ceremony in a suit, was dressed in the same light gray color scheme.To the right of the palace entrance, a group of schoolchildren were waving Norwegian flags. On the left stood the Russian diaspora. President Medvedev could recognize his compatriots not only by the Russian flags in their hands, but also by the lady in a sundress and kokoshnik seated in the front row. The joyful cries of “Russia, Russia!” that rang out when Dmitry Medvedev appeared almost drowned out the orchestra.
The general rejoicing was disrupted only by a small protest group located behind the fence. However, the poster they unfurled did not contain accusations of human rights violations or anything else unpleasant for the Russian supreme power. “Mr. President! Turn the Murmansk governor’s face to environmental problems,” the banner read. Murmansk Governor Dmitry Dmitrienko is indeed part of the Russian delegation, but he was not present at the ceremony. One can only hope that he had the opportunity to see this appeal later and adjust his position regarding environmental issues.
Naturally, the visit on the eve of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Victory could not pass without visiting memorial monuments. Dmitry Medvedev laid wreaths at the National Monument of Norway and at the Memorial to Soviet Soldiers Who Died in Norway. He met personally with those who lived to see these days. “During the period when we fought together against fascism, everything was simple. There was a common enemy, and he had to be defeated,” the president said during the ceremony of awarding veterans with anniversary medals in honor of the 65th anniversary of the Victory.
As the years passed, things became much more complicated. “Now more than ever there is a need to convey the truth about that war. So that there are no attempts to rewrite history to please the ambitions of certain politicians,” Mr. Medvedev again touched upon the extremely painful topic of falsifying history for the Russian authorities. “Otherwise, all of us, Europe, the whole world have a chance to get into a very big mess,” he warned our northern neighbors.
The Russian President concluded the official agenda of the first day of his visit to Norway with a visit to a business forum. Economic ties between the two countries cannot be called very close. The total volume of accumulated investments by Norwegian companies is about $2 billion, and Norway's share in Russian trade turnover is less than half a percent. As is known, the largest joint project should be the development of the Shtokman gas condensate field. But this will only be discussed today, during negotiations with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Yesterday, Dmitry Medvedev called on Norwegian business to engage in venture investment in Russia. There are more than 150 venture funds in Russia with total assets of about $14 billion. Half of this volume is formed by foreigners, but this is not enough, the president is convinced. “Russia is not only oil and gas, gold and diamonds. This is serious scientific potential,” said Mr. Medvedev.
“There is no cooperation without problems. The government’s task is to minimize them,” he began his speech to businessmen, recalling that he himself was once in “that part of the hall” (Dmitry Medvedev was involved in business, and before being elected president, he served as chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom). Norwegian companies really have mixed experience in working in Russian realities. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg recalled the difficulties faced by Telenor , a VimpelCom shareholder, in trying to gain a position in the Russian telecommunications market.
“We all know that without risk there is no successful investment. Russia is one of the fast-growing, energetic economies,” the Norwegian Prime Minister finally encouraged future investors in the Norwegian economy, after which the forum was declared closed.