Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, friends of East Timor,

On behalf of my government I’d like to say that it has been an honour to host the fifth donors’ meeting and to have so many distinguished guests here in Oslo. Some of us have met before, and some of you are new acquaintances whom I have been fortunate enough to get to know over the last few days.

Norway never recognized the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. That has many reasons, but one of them is that we too are a small country, we too have experienced foreign occupation, and we too have learnt the hard way that there are certain invisible privileges of mankind without which life is not worth living. Daily bread turns to stone unless eaten in freedom and with human dignity.

The United Nations is on everybody’s lips these days, as the winner of this years Nobel peace prize. I was reminded of the first Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Trygve Lie. In his acceptance speech on February 2, 1946, he said:

"Those who gave their lives in order that we may be free, those who lost their homes, those who suffered, and still suffer, from the consequences of war have given us a sacred mandate: that is, to build a firm foundation for the peace of the world. We may find difficulties and obstacles ahead of us. But the harder the task, the higher the prize. It is the future of the whole civilised world which is at stake."

Trygve Lie sought to make his office a "source for peace" at a time when the powers of the world organisation were limited, its institutions new and largely untried. It is sobering to study some of the issues he was struggling with, half a century ago: The advent of the Cold War, the Partition Plan for Palestine, the two Chinas, the Korea conflict, weapons of mass destruction, the Kashmir dispute, the unanimity rule of the Security Council and the vetoes applied by the Great Powers, the financing of the organisations, the need to broaden the authority of the office of Secretary-General. Does this sound familiar? There were many more issues, including what he called "a world-wide crusade against that most ancient enemy of mankind, poverty."

Trygve Lie had a lot on his plate. I don’t think he anticipated the troubles of East Timor, but he would not have been surprised. As a Norwegian, from a small nation with powerful neighbours, he knew that international law and strong multilateral institutions mean more to small nations than to the greater countries, because in this world, without internationally guaranteed security, their very life is at stake.

It is true for all nations, that without this universal institution for mobilising the creative and constructive forces of the world, we would have been much worse off today.

Given the current role of the United Nations in East Timor today, it seems appropriate that we’re dining in the room where Mr Annan and the UN received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize only two days ago. And we all remember when Mr Horta and Bishop Belo received the Peace Prize in this very room five years ago. Thus I feel that this dinner in the Oslo City Hall is a worthy ending to the Oslo Donors’ Meeting on East Timor.

East Timor has been of special interest to Norway for many years, not only at the government level, but also among NGOs and the general public. It is therefore a great pleasure to see that so many representatives from the Norwegian East Timorese network are with us here tonight. I hope that this will be an occasion where old friends can meet again and new friendships can be made.

A day like today is not an occasion for dwelling on the past. But there are a few points I would like to mention. During the last few years, great achievements have been made in East Timor. Who would have thought only five years ago that East Timor would be declaring its independence on 20 May 2002? We remember well the horrifying pictures from East Timor after the 1999 referendum. Many observers feared that East Timor’s path to independence would be violent and slow, and that the vision of independence would remain a dream for many years to come.

Norway was one of the first countries to send an official delegation to East Timor after the turmoil in 1999. In fact, it was headed by my former state secretary, Mr. Leiv Lunde, who was the first foreign visitor on a political level after the referendum. At their arrival in Dili in November 1999, the delegation found a ghost city almost entirely inhabited by UN soldiers and UN personnel. It was all the more encouraging and touching to witness the commitment and eagerness of the people of East Timor outside the polling stations on 30 August 2001.

East Timor is again entering a challenging phase. The declaration of independence is approaching and the people of East Timor have chosen a constituent assembly. This is a crucial part of the process of transforming East Timor into an independent country. The constituent assembly has an enormous task ahead of it, to draft a constitution for an independent East Timor.

They need the full support of their political leaders, of UNTAET, the international community and their people. This is what we have discussed over the last two days.

Dear friends,

East Timor has come a long way in a very short period of time. This has been achieved not only through the hard work and patience of the East Timorese people, but also through the assistance of the UN and the World Bank. These organisations have shared the East Timorese people’s belief that it would be possible to achieve independence by May 2002.

I can assure you that during my years as Minister of International Development, I’ve underlined the importance of co-ordinating international humanitarian relief and long-term assistance in almost every speech I’ve made. I’ve therefore been encouraged by the efforts made in the last few years by the multilateral actors, in co-operation with bilateral donors, to work together to rebuild East Timor. I hope that you will find ways of applying the lessons learned in East Timor to other countries and crisis situations where the UN and the World Bank are facing new challenges.

The time has finally come for East Timor, "a nation that has waited too long to be born", as Mr. Xanana Gusmao has put it. Independence is approaching and it will be the responsibility of the government of an independent East Timor to ensure peace, security and welfare for the people. But I want to take this opportunity to assure you that we will not forget East Timor. As we have discussed in the last two days we – the donors and multilateral actors – are now ready to support your needs, your national plans, your priorities and your strategies.

Norway is now planning to conclude a bilateral agreement with East Timor on development co-operation. We are currently identifying sectors where we can provide long-term development assistance after independence. This will of course be done in close dialogue and co-operation with the East Timorese leaders.

Your Excellencies,

Friends,

I’ve enjoyed sharing the last few days with you. Our meetings have been fruitful and constructive. I’ve also appreciated the opportunity to exchange views on an informal basis. I’m sure that the close friendship between Norway and East Timor will continue to grow and that we will all meet again in Oslo, Dili or some other part of the world.

Speaking about the independence of East Timor has brought to mind the name of Nordahl Grieg, a Norwegian poet who died fighting the Nazis in World War II. Shortly after German forces had occupied Norway, he wrote a famous poem: "May 17, 1940", about the national Constitution Day that the foreign oppressors would not allow us to celebrate:

"Bare today is the flagstaff

where Eidsvoll’s trees show green,

but never as now we have fathomed

what the blessings of freedom mean.

A faith has been borne within us.

Freedom and life, we find,

are one, by a need as simple

as breathing to human kind."

We sincerely hope that the nation of East Timor will be as fortunate as we have been, and that independence will get you started on the long and winding road towards stability and prosperity.

Let me therefore congratulate you, the East Timorese, the UN and the World Bank on your achievements. I wish you every success in the next exciting months in East Timor’s path to independence. I look forward to visiting a free and independent East Timor in May.

Thank you for your attention.