Finseth explained some of the main duties and responsibilities of the Norwegian coast guard, which includes fishery control, search and rescue and border and immigration control. In 2015 there were carried out 1516 inspections of fisheries, and the coast guard had 129 search and rescue operations as well as 81 towing operations in the same year. Furthermore, between May 2015 and April 2016, Norwegian ships have rescued 16 558 migrants.
Finseth pointed out what he believes are the biggest success factors of the Norwegian coast guard: Excellent cooperation with police, customs, maritime services and many other actors, highly skilled personnel, that the coast guard is predictable and fair, and the high ethical standards shown by the staff.
The Norwegian contribution was well received at the conference, and provided many points which will hopefully be considered in future talks on border management within ASEAN.
