Ms. Johnson will participate in a joint Norwegian-French seminar on HIV/AIDS and security issues in Paris on 25 January.

"HIV/AIDS is no longer a health problem only. It is now having such a disastrous impact on development in many parts of the world that global security is affected," says Ms. Johnson.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has major negative consequences for the social and economic development of a country, and can lead to political instability and war. One topic that will be discussed at the seminar is the role played by military and peacekeeping personnel with respect to the spread of HIV, as well as their role in the preventive efforts against HIV/AIDS.

Ms. Johnson will open the seminar, in which French Minister of Health Bernard Kouchner, Director-General of WHO Gro Harlem Brundtland and UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot will also take part. Also attending the seminar will be Major-General Lars Sølvberg, a member of the Norwegian Government’s Aids Forum. Maj.Gen. Sølvberg will focus on how peacekeeping forces can prevent HIV/AIDS epidemics among military personnel and local populations.

The seminar will be held at Les Salons de la Maison des Arts et Mètiers, Club Lèna, 9 bis, avenue d’lèna – 75116 Paris from 9.00 – 13.00. The seminar will be open to the press.

Ms. Johnson will also meet with her French counterpart, Deputy Minister for Cooperation Charles Josselin, at 15.00. They will be available to the Norwegian and the French press after the meeting (16.00).

Press spokesman: Head of Information Jon Mørland, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tel. 90 77 02 06