President Mkapa,Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen

"Ahsante sana kwa makaribisho mazuri" (Mange takk for en god velkomst).

President Mkapa, thank you for your kind words and for the warm welcome we have received.

I recall with great pleasure your visit to Norway six years ago. Then, as now, my dear friend Minister of International Development, Hilde Johnson, was with us. She regards Tanzania her second home.

The friendship between our two countries is not of recent date, and it has survived political changes in both countries.

Our relationship says something very important about what can be achieved when people and hearts from different countries meet. Our relationship is formed on contacts between individual human beings, the

networks they create, the compassion they have for each other, and the results they reach together.

The Norwegian Mission in Tanzania has celebrated its 50 ^th> anniversary, and our development co-operation has been going on for more than 40 years.

Hundreds of Norwegians have had the privilege to work and live in your country over the years. They come back with memories of a beautiful country and a warm and friendly people. And we in Norway have had the pleasure of welcoming hundreds of students and scholars from Tanzania to our universities and colleges.

In this era of globalisation the nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on each other in dealing with the major challenges of the present day. I recall that when you visited Norway in 1998, it was only a few days after the tragic terrorist attack here in Dar es Salaam. In our commitment for peace we need to co-operate in efforts to avert terrorism. To co-operate we need channels of communication.

One such important channel is the contact between religious leaders. I appreciate the harmony between religions in Tanzania and I look forward to meet with and learn from the experiences of religious

leaders from Zanzibar and the mainland tomorrow morning.

Poverty is among the biggest threats to peace, stability and security. There is growing global consensus on the necessity of fighting poverty and the means of doing it. The Millennium Development Goals are an expression of this. The Goals can be reached, but only by a true global partnership. We must all play our part.

Mr President,

The ultimate test of success is whether poor people

have a better life and whether their human rights are respected.

In his Nobel Lecture in 2001 Secretary General Kofi Annan said: “Poverty begins when even one child is denied his or her fundamental right to education. What begins with the failure to uphold the dignity of one life, all too often ends with a calamity for entire nations.”

Tanzania has had the privilege of peace and stability since independence. You have seen calamities on your doorstep. You take responsibility in the region. Your humanitarian contributions, especially in connection with hosting refugees and finding peaceful

resolutions in the region, are well known. We share your commitment to peace and your concern for those denied their human rights. Let us continue our close co-operation on these issues.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you to join me in a toast to President Mkapa and to close and fruitful relations between our two countries in the years to come.