OSLO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Norway said on Thursday that an agreement has been concluded with the United Kingdom that will ensure continuation of rights for Norwegian citizens living in the UK and British citizens living in Norway.

After Brexit, Norwegians living in the UK will keep the rights they have today, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"With this agreement, for instance, Norwegian and British students and employees living in the UK and Norway could continue as before. Our ambition has always been that Brexit changes as little as possible for Norwegians in Britain and British in Norway," said Norwegian foreign minister Ine Eriksen Soreide.

"Around 20,000 Norwegian citizens who live in the UK before the country leaves the EU can continue to live in Britain after Brexit. The same applies to the around 15,000 British citizens that live in Norway," Soreide said.

The agreement covers right to continued residence, work and establishment, rules on professional qualifications, co-ordination of benefits and health services, as well as educational support.

It also contains provisions for the termination and phasing out of ongoing processes related to goods, customs procedures, protection of intellectual property rights, public procurement processes, cooperation in working on police and crime cases and information exchange and protection of personal data.