Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik

Reception at the Ambassador's Residence

Pretoria, 10 February 2000

Hoveddel

Dear friends,

Thank you for welcoming us so warmly to South Africa, and for sharing our first evening here with us. I am looking forward to speaking with as many of you as possible, and hear about the co-operation between our two countries.

South Africa is the second stop on this tour. I left Mozambique this afternoon, and will be going on to Nigeria on Monday.

I am very happy to get first hand impressions of our involvement in South Africa. The presence of people from so many walks of life here tonight demonstrates the breadth of our commitment to the reforms that are underway in every part of this country.

I know that you all have close contact with the Embassy and with your other Norwegian partners. Most of you are familiar with our extensive activities in South Africa. Many of you meet with us regularly. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of the items in my programme, and what I want to achieve during this visit.

Let me also say right away, that I am accompanied by a large group of business people, who are here to explore opportunities for further contacts with their South African counterparts. I am sure that this tour and the seminar organised in Johannesburg tomorrow will be of benefit to both our countries.

When President Nelson Mandela visited Norway last year, we signed an agreement which extended our development co-operation for a further five years until 2004.

The Norwegian contribution totals approximately 300 million Rand. This is an indication of Norwegian interest in South Africa, and of our continued commitment to the economic and potential development of this country.

Most of this sum is linked to bilateral government-to-government co-operation, but a significant proportion is channelled through the non-governmental sector.

I expect to learn more about the transformation of society that the South African government has embarked upon, and about the economic challenges you are facing. I also hope to gain insight into South Africa's assessment of developments in the region. Norway has been involved in promoting regional co-operation in southern Africa for more than three decades. South Africa is a leading economic and political force in the region. I am eager to hear your views on how to move regional co-operation forward, and how we can contribute.

I will also be discussing global and other regional issues with your president, such as the proliferation of small arms and the Mine Ban Convention. These are issues on which our two countries are working closely together.

I will be visiting the Institute of a Democratic Alternative in South Africa – IDASA with which we have worked since its foundation. IDASA is currently showing an exhibition on Norwegian involvement in international peacekeeping. For those of you who are interested in this, it is well worth a visit. As some of you may know, "Training for peace" has been our major project in this field in southern Africa, with South Africa as a leading partner.

Housing and environment are among the most important sectors in our more traditional development co-operation. I will have the pleasure of opening a large new housing project in downtown Johannesburg, and will be attending the signing of a letter of intent on environmental co-operation. I look forward to meeting some of you on these occasions.

I would like to propose a toast to the continued excellent co-operation between Norway and South Africa.