Norway can contribute to port development, shipbuilding in India: Ole Henaes

Ole Henaes, regional director for Asia, Innovation Norway, in an interview with Ketan Vaidya speaks about Indo-Norwegian business prospects and the areas of co-operation that both the countries are exploring to further trade interests with each other.

What are the broad areas you are focusing on with regards to Indo- Norwegian trade?

India being a huge country, almost a continent in itself, it is interesting for all opportunities that we are seeing for Norwegian businesses. Bio-economy, maritime, oil and gas, smart societies, clean energy, health and meditech and, of course, IT and creative industry are some key areas. Basically, I see no areas where the Norwegian businesses are working that are not interesting to India. It is really a broad area. As we have discussed, we have strong competence in the ocean industry — maritime, oil & gas, aquaculture and energy. Equipment, knowledge and the knowledge within the aquaculture are also an area where we are working with India. 

India has a long coastline and some of the business goals that you spelt out are also the priority of the incumbent government. 

We have joint working groups with the governments. We have to see where we have common interests. We have a pretty big sea area and an economic zone. We cannot have all areas that exist in the maritime sector. We have to discuss with the Indian side as to where from the Norwegian side we can best contribute. It could be port development, ship equipment, shipbuilding and ship design. We have to choose. We have Norwegian companies that are big and medium in size. The companies have to make a decision of where the big business is. Is it India, is it South Korea?

Oslo is well connected with public transport, especially in terms of the fjords that run through waters. Do you see a similar opportunity for Mumbai or other cities in India?

I don’t know whether any such discussions are happening in India but I know they are happening in other parts of the world where Norwegian ships designed on hybrid low-emission solutions or electrical solutions like battery-powered ferries to have a low carbon footprint possible. This is a key to a low-emission society. Especially, when you move the transport from land to sea you will have lower emissions. Policy is important when you discuss these matters. Very often, it is policy-driven. If you want to develop it, you need policies.

What are the key takeaways of the business experience that you would share with the Indian counterparts?

I will see this from the standpoint of the difference of both the societies.  We need to learn from the big markets about how things are done. We are not too many people in Norway. We are a trust-based society.  Without knowing the other person, the Norwegian may trust the other person immediately, which could be dangerous when you go out into the world. 

Any challenges or roadblocks you face in India?

You have a red tape bureaucracy in India. We are not a whole lot of people. We need to find opportunities and go to them as fast as possible. Big bureaucracies can be a hindrance to do that. We don’t make a priority list. We have 50 people in Asia and most of them are in India. Hence, India is an important country for ‘Innovation Norway’ and Norway.