Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

International cultural exchange is important in order to understand other nations, especially when the nations in question are as different and as far apart as Norway and China. It is a great pleasure to see that co-operation and exchange of art and culture between our countries are thriving. Presently, there are several Norwegian performances touring in China. Among these, let me mention that Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra and the jazz quartet Shining are both on tour in China, and that the Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces will participate in the "4 ^th> China Shanghai International Arts Festival" at the end of this month. I also want to mention that the Norwegian audience had the opportunity to get known to "traditional Beijing opera" at the Ultima-festival in 2002 here in Oslo.

Culture can build bridges between nations, and encourage favourable conditions for co-operation in other fields as well. Co-operation in the field of culture results in increased knowledge and understanding, and creates better opportunities for peaceful co-existence between nations and continents. This is also an important perspective to keep in mind.

The performance we are attending tonight has been arranged through a joint effort between the embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the cultural network "Du store verden!" The performance is part of the official programme of cultural exchange between Norway and China, and as such it is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Council for Cultural Affairs. This testifies to the high priority given to this event in Norway. The Chinese Ministry of Culture is responsible for the tour. The Norwegian Academy of Music and the Chinese-Norwegian Association will also contribute to the performance we are about to see.

This event today is the last, but not final pearl on a string of many cultural presentations adding to our common knowledge of each other’s cultures.

"Du store verden!" is a network of 80 organisations, institutions and groups that work within the field of international cultural exchange. This year, the network focuses on Asian culture through the project "2002 - Dialogue Asia", which tonight’s performance is a part of.

The performance has previously been shown in England and will later tour Holland and Sweden. In Norway, the performance is shown three times: Yesterday in Kulturhuset Banken in Lillehammer, on the 24 ^th> in Lindemannssalen in the Norwegian Academy of Music and tomorrow in Kongsvinger theatre. We are especially pleased that this performance, in line with the traditions of Norwegian cultural politics, also will be shown in parts of our country that are situated somewhat outside of the central urban areas.

I would like to thank everyone who has worked together in order to bring this performance to Norway, especially the Chinese embassy represented by ambassador Ma Nenhen and "Du store verden!" for their work with and for international exchange of art and culture.

I would like to thank the ambassador especially for his work through many years for the cultural exchange between our two countries. Through the last years, the minister of cultural affairs in Norway has been to China in 2001, our state secretary was there in 2002 and next year our minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland is invited to China.

The ensemble China Nationalities Song & Dance Troupe consists of 20 performers from two groups. All in all, they represent 8 different ethnic groups from the southern and southwestern parts of China. The performance has been characterised as colourful folklore combining song, dance and music. I look forward to the experience!