UK and Norway sign a statement of intent on AI covering compute, defense AI and security testing

Britain and Norway have set out an intention to cooperate on artificial intelligence. Kanishka Narayan, the UK minister for AI, and Torgeir Micaelsen, Norway's Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, signed a joint statement of intent in Oslo on November 12, on the margins of a security forum the two countries co-hosted, the UK government said.

The statement describes AI as “a new area of bilateral cooperation” and commits the two governments to explore working together in six areas. It is a statement of intent, not a treaty: the text says it “does not create rights or obligations under international or domestic law,” and that any cooperation depends on each side's laws, policies and available resources. It sets out no budget or timetable.

Six areas, from chips to governance

The compute item is framed in commercial terms. The ministers spoke of hosting “national compute assets and public workloads” commercially, and of exploring the demonstration, deployment and commercial adoption of chips and novel AI hardware from either country. Elsewhere, the statement cites the two countries' complementary strengths in AI, research and innovation, secure digital infrastructure and clean energy.

Defense and security testing

On defense, the statement pairs two defense AI bodies. Taskforce RAID, the Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce, was announced by the UK government on June 10, 2026 as a defense AI unit to get AI-enabled tools to the armed forces faster; it reports directly to the Chief of the Defence Staff. Its Norwegian counterpart in the statement is the Defence Centre for Data and AI. The two would look for opportunities for joint development, testing and operational adoption of AI-enabled capabilities.

A separate strand links the UK's AI Security Institute, which is part of the Cabinet Office, with AI Norway. They would share best practices on AI security, testing and evaluation, including as they relate to cybersecurity through the UK's NCSC and Norway's NSM, and exchange knowledge of the capabilities and risks of advanced AI systems.

The signing came during the Atlantic Future Forum, which the UK and Norway hosted aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Oslo on November 11 and 12, with representatives of 30 countries, according to a co-hosts' statement from the UK Ministry of Defence. That statement said participants backed helping start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, alongside traditional prime contractors, to turn new technology into defense capability faster.

Building on a 2024 partnership

The new text builds on the Joint Declaration on the Norwegian-UK Strategic Partnership, which Prime Ministers Keir Starmer and Jonas Gahr Støre signed in Øygarden, Norway, on December 16, 2024. That declaration concentrated on defense and security, energy and the green transition; by our reading it did not mention artificial intelligence. The AI statement says it complements existing arrangements, including that partnership, the UK-Norway Green Industrial Partnership, the Lunna House Agreement and the UK-Norway Security Dialogue.

On the UK side, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade will coordinate the work, and in Norway the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance, with other ministries and authorities in both countries, the statement says. The ministers agreed to stay in regular contact.