Scope of the State Visit
The visit was a Belgian State Visit to Norway, held from 24 to 26 March 2026, at the invitation of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. It took place mainly in Oslo and Stavanger, with additional activities linked to Kongsberg and Bergen on 27 March, outside the official royal programme.
The Belgian delegation included 157 participants, among them CEOs, academics and journalists. The visit focused on three main priorities:
- Offshore wind energy
- Energy security and CCUS / CCS
- Defence
For The Wallonia Export & Investment Agency, this State Visit aimed to:
- highlight Walloon industrial expertise
- strengthen Belgian-Norwegian cooperation
- create business opportunities for Walloon companies in sectors such as green industrial transition, defence, energy, CCUS, critical infrastructure and advanced materials.
Highlights
The visit provided strong visibility for Belgian and Walloon companies in strategic sectors for Norway.
Several Walloon companies were involved, including Heidelberg Materials Benelux, FN Browning, Industeel Belgium, John Cockerill, Rolls-Royce Solutions Liège, Sonaca, Thales, 3B Fibreglass, Castingpar and Karl Hugo.
The mission led to concrete outcomes, including:
- Signature of a new contract involving Rolls-Royce Solutions Liège / BOS Power for the Rikshospitalet project.
- A Letter of Intent between Sonaca and Kongsberg.
- A Belgian-Norwegian agreement related to CCUS.
Official programme
24 March – Oslo
- Official protocol activities.
- Official banquet at the Royal Palace.
25 March – Oslo
- Visit of DEME’s Norse Wind vessel.
- Session at the Oslo Opera House on Belgian-Norwegian cooperation in offshore wind.
- Seminar “Across Borders: Reading, a skill for life” at Deichman Library.
- Cultural programme at the National Museum.
26 March – Stavanger
- Roundtable on energy security and CCS.
- Defence programme at Sola Air Base, including a NASAMS demonstration and presentation of a search-and-rescue helicopter.
27 March – Outside the official programme
- Defence delegation visit to Kongsberg, with cooperation discussions and agreements linked to NASAMS programmes.
- CCS delegation visit to Northern Lights, Øygarden near Bergen, with Belgian ministers and around 50 participants.
Activities organized by The Wallonia Export & Investment Agency
- 24 March
- Francophone-Germanophone cocktail.
- 25 March
- Visit to Heidelberg Materials in Brevik, focused on industrial-scale carbon capture.
- High-Level Forum: Industrial Green Transition for a Sustainable Future, highlighting Belgian-Norwegian cooperation in circular economy, clean technologies and industrial transition.
- Visit to Rolls-Royce Solutions Liège project at the Life Science Building in Oslo, showcasing Belgian expertise in power protection for critical infrastructure.
- Across Borders: Reading, a skill for Life, organised with WBI at Deichman Library, focusing on reading skills, education and inclusion.
- 26 March
- Belgium-Norway Defence Industry: Business Networking at Innovation Norway. Presentations, pitch sessions and B2B exchanges between Belgian companies and Norwegian defence industry representatives.
