The opening ceremony was attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince of Norway Haakon who visited St.Petersburg.
The opening ceremony was attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince of Norway Haakon who visited St.Petersburg. Consul-General of Norway Heidi Olufsen was congratulated upon the opening by Bård Glad Pedersen, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway; Svetlana Ivanova, the State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Regional Development of the Russian Federation; Alexander Prokhorenko, Member of St.Petersburg Government, Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg; Vladimir Zapevalov, Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in St.Petersburg and Leidulv Namtvedt, Ambassador of Norway to Russia.
The history of diplomatic representation of Norway in Russia starts from the beginning of the 20th century: up to 1918 Norway was represented in St.Petersburg by diplomatic mission. The Consulate-General was opened in 1936 in Leningrad and closed in 1938. After 55 years, in 1993, the Consulate-General in St.Petersburg was opened again. A new (the third office for 20 years) is located at the address: 13-15, Ligovsky Prospekt, business-center “Grechesky”, 3rd floor.
The Consulate-General plays a significant role in strengthening of Norwegian-Russian relations, including promotion of Norwegian interests in the spheres of economy, politics and culture; communication with Norwegian organizations and promotion of cooperation between St.Petersburg and Norway.