The future for Norway lies in being smarter, not cheaper, said Prime Minister Anna Solberg as she opened this year's Nor-Shipping. "That's why we are investing so heavily in innovation, research, and development." The focus on research to strengthen value creation and on education to provide access to qualified personnel is a thread that ran through the conference. Shipping is suffering from surplus capacity at a time of weakening demand but, as a sector, it contributes vitally to global economic growth and prosperity, added Norwegian Shipowners' Association chief executive Sturla Henriksen. Shipping has spent the past 50 years asking "What next?" so this year's Nor-Shipping theme was, he observed, both old and new.
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