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A joint statement by the UK and Norway to deepen cooperation on AI, including compute, defence, AI security, and international governance.

Kanishka Narayan, UK Minister for Artificial Intelligence, and Torgeir Micaelsen, Norwegian Minister for Digitalisation and Public Governance, met on the margins of the Atlantic Futures Forum (AFF) on 12th November. 

The ministers articulated the deep and longstanding relationship between the United Kingdom and Norway as neighbours, partners and allies, underpinned by shared democratic values and a commitment to open, secure and resilient societies; recalled the Joint Declaration on the Norwegian-UK Strategic Partnership agreed by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on 16 December 2024, and its ambition to strengthen cooperation in areas of shared strategic importance; and recognised the transformative potential of artificial intelligence to improve people’s lives, support economic growth, scientific discovery and better public services, alongside the importance of understanding and addressing the safety and security risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems.

The ministers expressed their intention to strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence as a new area of bilateral cooperation building on the Norwegian-UK Strategic Partnership’s existing objectives on security, resilience, sustainable growth and innovation.

The ministers recognised the complementary strengths of the United Kingdom and Norway in artificial intelligence, research and innovation, secure digital infrastructure and clean energy, and the contribution this cooperation can make to their respective industrial policy ambitions. 

The ministers committed to explore collaboration in the following potential areas:  

• Accelerating cooperation on compute infrastructure and hardware integration to enable secure and resilient commercial hosting of national compute assets and public workloads, and exploring possibilities for the demonstration, deployment and commercial adoption of semiconductors and novel AI hardware from either country.
• Establishing closer cooperation between the UK’s Taskforce RAID and Norway’s Defence Centre for Data and AI to identify opportunities for the joint development, testing and operational adoption of AI-enabled defence capabilities, harnessing the two countries’ complementary strengths in energy, compute, technology and investment to strengthen collective security. 
• Strengthening cooperation between UK AISI and AI Norway through the sharing of best practices on AI security, testing, and evaluation, including as they relate to cybersecurity, via NCSC and NSM; exchanging knowledge of the capabilities and risks of advanced AI systems; and exploring other opportunities for practical cooperation.  
• Strengthening dialogue to promote more complementary and interoperable international AI governance, including on advanced AI, and identifying opportunities for UK and Norwegian initiatives to reinforce cooperation across multilateral fora, international standards and capacity-building.
• Exchanging experience and perspective on policies supporting AI research and innovation ecosystems, connecting research, R&I funding agencies, and businesses, drawing on the UK’s Industrial Strategy and Norway’s industrial policy priorities. 
• Exchanging views on the convergence of AI with other emerging technologies, including quantum technologies, biotechnology and robotics, and its implications for innovation, safety, security, and international governance.

Both ministers agreed to remain in regular contact to build UK-Norway cooperation on AI, with the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and the Norwegian Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance coordinating this work, with the relevant ministries and authorities in both countries. This Statement complements existing UK–Norway cooperation, including under the Norwegian-UK Strategic Partnership, UK-Norway Green Industrial Partnership, the Lunna House Agreement, and the UK-Norway Security Dialogue.

This Statement expresses the intentions of the Participants and does not create rights or obligations under international or domestic law. Cooperation under this Statement will be subject to the Participants’ respective laws, policies and available resources. Nothing in this Statement affects the rights and obligations of either Participant arising from other international agreements.

Signed in Oslo on [12 November 2026], in two copies in the English language.

For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Kanishka Narayan MP
Minister for AI

For the Government of the Kingdom of Norway

Torgeir Micaelsen
Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance