CompTIA Newsroom

Washington, D.C. –The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), the leading trade association for the global information technology industry, announced today that it has signed a new agreement with a Norwegian group to promote closer space relationships between the United States and Norway and an improved environment for bilateral trade and investment in space-related goods and services between the two nations.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by CompTIA’s Space Enterprise Council and the Norwegian Industrial Forum for Space Activities (NIFRO), a national industry organization formed to promote the interest and growth of private and government-owned Norwegian space enterprises.

“There is a long tradition for cooperation between the U.S. and Norway on space-related activities, for which there has been a government-to-government MOU for decades,” said Dr. Onno Verberne, President of NIFRO. The Norwegian space industry is growing rapidly and is already very internationally oriented. With this agreement in place, we see a huge potential for bilateral relationships to form which will benefit both sides of the Atlantic.”

“This agreement will lead to increased collaboration and stronger ties between the dynamic space industries in both nations,” said David Logsdon, Senior Director, Public Sector, and Executive Director of the Space Enterprise Council. “CompTIA looks forward to facilitating productive partnerships between private companies in the U.S. and Norway as the commercial space industry continues to grow and expand.”

The agreement focuses on four primary areas:

Developing strategies for advocating a U.S.-Norway space partnership in their respective administrations and legislatures.

Coordinating advocacy strategies and activities to share information and ideas, ensure consistency of messaging, and prevent duplication of efforts.

Developing joint letters with policy recommendations for both governments for use in these advocacy activities.

Organizing and hosting trade missions and other meetings so that companies and government officials from each nation can learn each other’s capabilities and positions while exploring business opportunities.

Future collaboration between the two groups may include joint policy papers, industry days, and facilitating space cooperation coordination between companies and government agencies from both nations, Logsdon said.

CompTIA’s Space Enterprise Council was founded in 2000 to represent businesses with a commercial interest in space. Throughout the years, the council has grown to represent all sectors of the industry including commercial, civil and national security space. As a forum for space-related companies, the council brings the collective power of its affiliation with CompTIA and its diverse members into a single, unified voice that is used in advocating member interests to policymakers.