UN Secretary-General to Norway and Oslo Forum

Among the other participants are Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process in the Philippines Jesus Dureza, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat Isil Brett McGurk, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths. Foreign ministers of Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Tanzania and other countries will also take part.

The Oslo Forum has become one of the world's most important meeting places for facilitators, mediators, government leaders and other key actors in peace and conflict resolution processes. More than a hundred researchers, mediators and politicians with experience of a range of peace and reconciliation processes will be attending the Forum.

'Peace and reconciliation efforts are a key element of Norwegian foreign policy, and our work in this area is increasingly linked to security policy considerations. We are living at a time of great uncertainty. We are facing new threats and seeing the rise of new geopolitical power constellations. Global security, economy and welfare could be undermined. Working together with the UN for peaceful resolution of conflicts is a way of safeguarding our common interests.

'I am delighted that António Guterres has accepted the invitation to participate at this year's Forum. I'm looking forward to the discussions with him and the other participants on what we can do to make peace efforts more effective in response to today's conflicts,' said Ms Eriksen Søreide.

The theme for this year's Forum is 'The End of the Big Peace? Opportunities for Mediation'. This theme was chosen against the backdrop of the changing conflict landscape. While the peace negotiations with Farc in Colombia, for example, only involved two parties, the situation in today's most serious conflicts is more complex. Militias, terrorist groups, porous borders and weak governance structures are all complicating factors. Conflicts can spread across borders, and are increasingly taking the form of proxy wars. As a result, conflicts are causing more casualties and are also becoming harder to resolve. The situation in Libya, Yemen, Mali, Syria, Colombia and the role of religious groups in peace facilitation are among the topics that will be discussed at this year's Forum.

Press programme at Losby Manor (subject to change)

Tuesday 19 June

08:00 – 08:30:	Arrival of press. Security screening.
09:00:	Press conference with the participants in the opening panel: UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre and Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.
09:30 – 09:40:	Members of the press can follow the start of the opening session, which will be led by Foreign Minister Eriksen Søreide via a video link in the press room. Audio and video recordings may be made.

Accreditation

Media that are interested in covering this year's Oslo Forum or Mr Guterres' visit must apply for accreditation here by 13:00 on Thursday 14 June.

Mr Guterres' additional programme

In addition to taking part in the Oslo Forum, Mr Guterres will attend an audience at the Royal Palace. He will also meet Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the Nobel Peace Center to open an exhibition on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. After this, they will have bilateral talks and will meet representatives of the recently established High-level Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy, which Norway initiated.

A press conference with Ms Solberg and Mr Guterres will be held at the Norwegian Maritime Museum, Bygdøy, at 14:25. A more detailed programme for Mr Guterres' visit will be sent to accredited members of the press closer to the time.

Press contacts:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde, ane.lunde@mfa.no, mobile +47 976 71 250

Photos from this year's Oslo Forum will be published on Flickr here.

Office of the Prime Minister: Tor Borgersen, tor.borgersen@smk.dep.no, mobile +47 909 38 987

Photos from Mr Guterres' programme with Ms Solberg will be published on Flickr here.