Norway–Spain relations

Bilateral Spanish-Norwegian political relations have traditionally passed in a tone of friendship and cordiality, with a continuing political dialogue on issues of mutual interest. This bilateral relationship has important permanent assets, such as the excellent relationship between the Royal Houses of both countries and the numerous personal contacts created by the flow of more than one million Norwegians who visit Spain annually (almost ¼ of the population), Spain being the main tourist destination of the Norwegians, which generates a stream of sympathy and a growing interest in Spanish culture and language.[3] In addition, L'Alfàs del Pi is the second largest colony of Norwegians in the world, just behind London.

Spain and Norway also maintain a positive collaboration in multilateral organizations, especially in United Nations. Spain and Norway have also been the two co-sponsors of the V World Congress against the death penalty, which was held in Madrid in June 2013.[3]

Government-to-government relations, for their part, maintain a positive tone in all its dimensions, with some important elements of bilateral cooperation, such as defense. There is a certain mutual bilateral interest, since the Spanish armed forces are interested in using the training resources in conditions of extreme cold available to the Norwegian armed forces and, reciprocally, the Norwegian armed forces have an interest in training in arid climates such as those that exist in some areas of Spain. The good level of bilateral relations does not prevent, however, that there is a point where divergences are maintained: fishing in the Svalbard archipelago.[3]

Leaving the legal issue in the background safe, the fisheries authorities of both countries hold regular technical conversations to clarify the framework in which Spanish fishing activity takes place in Norway.[3]

Traditionally there has been a trade imbalance between the two countries due to purchases of Norwegian oil and gas, which represent around 70% of Spanish imports. On the other hand, the Spanish export to Norway is very diversified in its products: ships, cars, machinery and the agri-food sector, among others. The balance of services partly compensates for the above, mainly thanks to tourism: 1,540,000 Norwegians (over a population of five million inhabitants) visit Spain annually (2014). Throughout 2014, 1,533,295 Norwegians visited Spain (over a population of five million inhabitants), which represents a growth of 1% compared to 2013. During the first five months of 2015 a certain decrease in the number of Norwegian tourists to Spain was observed, and in that period 521,778 Norwegians had visited Spain (decrease of −9.3% over the same period of the previous year).[3]

The Embassy of Norway is located in Madrid, Spain. The Embassy of Spain is located in Oslo, Norway.

• Foreign relations of Norway
• Foreign relations of Spain
• Norway–EU relations