The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Karianne Tung, Norwegian Minister for Digitalisation and Public Governance, met on the margins of the India AI Action Summit on 19th of February.
The ministers articulated their strong partnership, built on shared values and a firm commitment to democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples and minorities. As like-minded partners, they noted their strong bilateral ties, including through close cooperation in multilateral fora, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence - and stated their intention to deepen collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.
Building on their meeting at the AI Summit, ministers have also committed to exploring Norway's participation in the Sovereign Technology Alliance in order to deepen coordination with trusted partners to strengthen sovereign AI capacity and reduce strategic technology dependencies in key strategic sectors. In addition, they will work to expand practical cooperation on advanced technologies, with a focus on delivering real capability and shared economic benefit.
The ministers committed to explore collaboration in the following potential areas:
- Expanding access to AI compute capacity, and promoting sustainable, resilient and environmentally responsible digital infrastructure, and supporting innovators while enhancing Canada and Norway's shared economic security and prosperity.
- Exploring collaboration in frontier models that establish safety and responsibility as a foundational design principle as well as broader safety initiatives.
- Fostering AI and technology adoption across industry and governments, through reducing bureaucratic burdens, and advancing the use of AI solutions to improve public services.
- Exploring shared interests within research and innovation in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
- Exploring ways to strengthen commercial ties and highlight investment and business opportunities that AI can transform, from small- and medium-sized enterprises to large industrial firms, in both countries.
Furthermore, both ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to supporting a dynamic business environment that supports innovation and startups across the digital economy. They discussed ideas for connecting businesses and entrepreneurs, facilitating business delegations and encouraging collaboration between tech companies in both countries.
Both ministers agreed to remain in regular contact to build Canada-Norway cooperation and advance initiatives of mutual interest.
