[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 NORWAY

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise to mark the new security 
cooperation agreement through the Department of Defense's State 
Partnership Program between the Minnesota National Guard and the 
Kingdom of Norway, which will be celebrated in Minnesota on Saturday, 
February 4, 2023. This partnership will provide a key avenue to deter 
aggression and assist in both of our nation's national security while 
broadening and deepening our long-standing relationship.
  Norway has been critical to Minnesota's heritage and culture ever 
since the first Norwegian settlement was established in Spring Grove 
back in the early 1850s, a few years before Minnesota officially became 
a State. Today, Minnesota is the proud home of more than 860,000 
Norwegian Americans. Some of our most beloved Minnesotans have been of 
Norwegian ancestry, including my late friend and mentor, Vice President 
Walter Mondale. At the end of last year, we had the honor of welcoming 
Her Majesty Queen Sonja to Minneapolis to celebrate the opening of 
Norway House's new Innovation and Cultural Center.
  In addition to our cultural heritage, Minnesota and Norway share a 
strong, time-tested military relationship. In 1973, Norwegian Home 
Guard's Major General Herluf Nygaard invited the chief of the National 
Guard, Major General Francis S. Greenlief, to visit their Home Guard. 
What came out of that meeting was the Norwegian Reciprocal Troop 
Exchange, also known as NOREX.
  Through this program, members of the Minnesota National Guard and the 
Norwegian Home Guard have gotten the opportunity to participate in 
field training exercises with an appropriate emphasis on winter 
tactical training. For Minnesota guardsmen, it has meant skiing through 
the mountains of Norway and sleeping in tents and snow shelters. For 
Norway's soldiers, it has meant winter training at Camp Ripley. Every 
participant is taken in as a guest by a local family, making NOREX a 
true cultural exchange.
  For 50 years, the program has strengthened the militaries of both our 
nations while fostering goodwill and lifelong friendships. This new 
State Partnership Program brings with it the opportunity to build on 
that progress while offering reassurance to our friends throughout the 
globe and deterring our foes. This partnership will promote and deepen 
trust, familiarity, and interoperability between Minnesota and Norway.
  Norway is one of Minnesota's best friends around the world. They have 
stood with us. We have stood with them. And we will continue to stand 
together. Our friendship is unshakeable. Our progress toward initiating 
this new State Partnership Program is a testament to that.

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