Luncheon speech to South Africa's President Nelson Mandela

President Mandela and Mrs Machel,

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a rare privilege to welcome a dear friend, who has lived through most of this century, and shaped its history to the extent that you have, Mr President.

It is also an honour for me to welcome your wife here today. Through your important humanitarian work, Mrs Machel, you have also established close ties with Norway.

I still remember vividly the first time I met you, Mr. President. It was at Oslo airport in the summer of 1990. I was foreign minister at the time, receiving you for the conference against hate. People spontaneously gathered around, singing South African songs.

This was only a few months after your release from prison. But it made a lasting impression on me that there were no signs of hatred or bitterness. Instead your focus was purely on peace and reconciliation. I felt respect and admiration.

Jesus Christ said, in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers”.

Our two countries are far apart geographically – in fact, you have the South Cape, we have the North Cape! – but we have in common a strong commitment to peace.

Your fellow countryman and fellow Nobel Laureate, Desmond Tutu, has stated:

”The world recognises goodness when it sees it. We in South Africa are richly blessed, at this crucial and delicate stage in the history of our wounded and traumatised land, that God should have given us Nelson Mandela to be our president.”

By focussing on a better future instead of a bitter past, you have set an example, not only for Africa, but for the whole world.

We Europeans only have to look to the Balkans to realise, that things could easily have gone wrong, in a country with such a diversity of cultures as your own.

But when you became the first president of a free and non-racial South Africa, history was on the side of the South African people.

Now, in place of sanctions and isolation, we turn to South Africa for support and inspiration. Our contacts are broadening every year.

Last year, for the first time, the football teams of both our countries even competed in the World Cup finals in France!

We have seen how, almost overnight, your country has become a leading spokesman for the developing world, enjoying respect as a credible mediator in all quarters.

We have witnessed, with awe and admiration, the unique search for truth and reconciliation taking place through the work of your national commission.

For Norway, it is a priority to continue the close relationship that developed during the years of apartheid. We can build on a solid basis of friendships and personal ties.

The declaration signed during your visit today shows that our excellent bilateral relationship is founded on shared values and shared goals. We work closely together - in the United Nations; against land mines and small arms; and to prevent conflicts in Africa. Norway sees South Africa as an important ally in global and multilateral affairs.

We want to collaborate with you on promoting democracy, development and human rights in your region, now and in the years ahead

Today, we have declared our joint intention to build a partnership for the next century.

The transition to democracy in South Africa was the work of the South Africans themselves. Eliminating poverty and crime, and transforming your economy, will also primarily be in the hands of your own people.

Things are improving on many fronts in South Africa. Of course, social and economic problems remain, after decades of an evil system that neglected the human resources of the vast majority of the population.

But problems can be solved, in co-operation with partners and friends like Norway. As in the past, Norway is ready to continue working with you.

Mr. President,

In closing, I would like to quote the following from your book “Long Walk to Freedom”:

“I never lost hope that this great transformation would occur. I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished”.

I find it remarkable that you have retained this hope and this faith in humankind through so many testing years.

This morning, you showed your strong love for music and dance, in short for life, when you came to the government building. Your love for life has indeed survived even the most difficult conditions. I am happy to know that your friends in the Norwegian Church provided music instruments for the Robbyn Island prison, to help keep up the spirit of life alive there.

I would like to propose a toast – to music and life, to a president whose legacy has been left in good hands, and to a country that God blessed with the leadership of Nelson Mandela.

Skål.