MG Odd-Harald Hagen

Norwegian-American Defense Conference

The eighth annual Norwegian-American Defense Conference took place on April 1, cohosted alongside NADIC. The topic was "Winning the Innovation Race through Speed and Cooperation."

Participants heard from an array of speakers from such places as NATO, Congress, the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense, Lockheed Martin, and Kongsberg. Ambassador Anniken R. Krutnes and Defense Attaché Major General Odd-Harald Hagen both delivered remarks.

The Major General's observations focused on how to determine what "good" looks like when it comes to innovation. "To me, 'good' means that democracies outpace, outperform and out-invent autocracies in a collaborative effort," he said. "Can we do it? Sure. A key element will be to get our processes right... Some would argue that we cooperate at the 'speed of trust.' Among trusted allies like USA and Norway, with a longstanding relationship and common democratic values, the foundation for cooperation is very good. Frankly, I have not met any who disagree on this diagnosis of our bilateral relationship."