The Brazilian innovation agency Finep signs agreements with Innovation Norway and the Research Council of Norway.
The signing of the two Memorandums of Understanding took place during the November Conference, a seminar on collaboration between Norway and Brazil within research, development and innovation (RD&I) in the oil and gas industry, on November 4, 2014.
“We are very pleased to sign these agreements here today, and we do this to intensify our cooperation even further. Brazil and Norway have experiences that both countries can benefit mutually from. I am also very happy to see the the presence of so many researchers and other important stakeholders in the industry here today”, Mr. Glauco Arbix, president of Finep said during the signing.
Finep signed one agreement with Innovation Norway and another with the Research Council of Norway.
Finep president Glauco Arbix and the CEO of Innovation Norway, Anita Krohn Traaseth.
CEO Anita Krohn Traaseth represented Innovation Norway at the signing.
“It is a pleasure to be here in Rio as the new CEO of Innovation Norway, and sign this agreement between Brazil and Norway as my first formal job. This agreement is a solid fundament for moving forward, and the agreement is important for the future collaboration between us. Now I look forward to see how we can proceed on this great cooperation that we have already had for many years, a cooperation which is in very good shape. I am convinced that there are great opportunities in the future”, Anita Krohn Traaseth said.
“This is a really good day for us. Our mission at the Research Council of Norway covers all disciplines for research and applied research and innovation, and international collaboration is important in this respect. This agreement opens for common calls and proposals and other common activities. I am therefore very pleased to sign the agreement on behalf of the Research Council of Norway, and look forward to start working on action plans and the first common call, which will be in the area of petroleum”, director Siri Helle Friedemann said.
The topics for the first common call will be within the frame of the BN21 agreement, and with funding from both the Research Council of Norway and Finep, the two institutions expect even additional funding being made available from the industry.
The need for funding was also something that conference chair Kjetil Solbrække called attention to in his opening remarks to the November Conference on November 3, 2014, and the two agreements signed will probably facilitate access to funding.
“We need to see funding, and we haven´t seen the big amount of money yet, so consider this a challenge to the governments of our two countries. On the other hand, the research community and the industry need to show that we can do great things together and show them why it makes sense to collaborate”, Mr. Solbrække said.
In her address to the conference, Consul General Helle Klem said she hopes that the conference and the agreements signed will pave the way for future cooperation to the mutual benefit to the two countries.
“Brazil and Norway are both important nations in the oil & gas sector. We share challenges and it is certain that we will also see synergies. I believe that the agreements sign will lead to concrete action and further follow up on the joint financing on R&D products”, she said.
By Runa Hestmann, NBCC journalist
(runa.tierno@nbcc.com.br)
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