More than 700 students at BI Norwegian School of Management hung on every word during the hour-long lecture on perspectives on the Norwegian economy.
“My respect for BI continues to grow. You educate people who the country will need in the years to come,” said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to a standing ovation.
“There aren’t many places in this country where they will applaud you for the budget balance,” Jens Stoltenberg joked.
The Prime Minister also visited BI at the onset of the financial crisis.
“The last time I was here, was the first time I stated publicly that the international financial crisis would be a serious one. So it seemed only natural to return here to talk about how things have gone.”
The Prime Minister told the audience that Norway has weathered the storm well, and that the Norwegian economy will return to the four-percent oil revenue spending ceiling in 2011.
In his speech, Minister of Finance Sigbjørn Johnsen emphasized the necessity of curbing spending to reduce the pressure on interest rates in the time ahead.
Prorector Dag Morten Dalen concluded the session by stating that we have now established a tradition where the prime minister and minister of finance visit BI every time there is a turning point in the Norwegian economy.