Joik Biotechnology concluded state visit
Sami culture bearers and pointed research in bioprospecting were the issues at hand when the state visit from Singapore ended in Tromsø on Wednesday.
King Harald and the Singaporean presidential couple Tony Tan and Mrs Mary Tan visited UiT Norges Arctic University of Tromso on Wednesday.
At the Sami center, Niko Valkeapää served up a joik about grouse, a bird that is often seen inside the university campus.
The President, his wife, and the king also received a brief presentation of the Sami influence on the university, that according to Dean Anne Homes Stream, can boast about being the 8th best in the world at the publication of scientific articles on the Arctic.
On a gray and dusky campus, the presidential couple and the king also visited of research facilities in Ishavsbyen that deal with bioprospecting – the search for valuable substances at sea.
They also managed to get an idea of ship speed in the modern ship simulator at the University.
The first state visit from Singapore ever ended with a trip on the research vessel Helmer Hanssen.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
