Madam President, Mr. Freibergs,

Your Majesties,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

600 years ago men who knew Riga well walked the streets of Bergen.

At the Hanseatic Museum hangs proudly the coat of arms of Riga. A testimony of a common past. In the same spirit as you and I have been discussing a common future in a new Europe where Latvia and Norway again are partners.

The Hanseatic League knew no barriers of country or language. Its trade in Norwegian fish brought prosperity and culture to my nation for many hundred years.

Your capital, Madam President, was a leading city of that union. The trade in timber and other goods made Riga a key city on the Baltic Sea.

Today, women and men of Latvia are back in the streets of Bergen.

Today, the Baltic Sea, for half a century a barrier to contact, is again a link between free peoples.

Today, Latvia has taken on its rightful place among the free nations of Europe. Today – once more - the contacts between our two countries blossom.

Over the past decade, a number of Norwegian companies have established themselves in Latvia.

Among the first was Statoil. The company now operates some 30 petrol stations throughout Latvia, as well as a terminal in Riga.

The retail trade is represented by food chains and clothing shops. Norwegian business is engaged in shopping centres and in hotels.

Only last month a new timber export terminal was opened at the mouth of the Daugava river.

Investing is believing.

Norwegian investments in your country amount to 400 million dollars. This makes Norway one of the major economic participants in Latvia.

Our bilateral relations are based on many, many contacts. The highlights being the successful visit by King Harald and Queen Sonja to Latvia two years ago, and your visit here today. We enjoy political contacts at government level, between our parliaments as well as political parties.

This is the focal point of modern Europe: Independence and respect for the mutual good is best served by common obligations and common purpose.

A month ago the prime ministers of the Nordic and Baltic states met in Estonia. Five months ago I had the privilege of chairing the Summit of the Baltic Sea States.

Your country, Madam President, has truly regained its role in a modern world. In this dynamic region of Europe, the enlargement of the European Union will answer your call for full inclusion in the European family of nations.

This I welcome.

EU enlargement will contribute to economic and political stability in Europe.

Norway is a partner in this process. As party to the European Economic Area my country looks forward to welcoming Latvia also to the EEA co-operation.

Any free nation shall decide on its own how to meet its security needs.

Norway supports your aspirations to join NATO.

We will continue to work closely to achieve that goal.

Already, we co-operate in the military field, both within the Baltsea network and on a bilateral basis. Norwegian officers have gained valuable experience in training the Baltic Battalion in Adazi. We have had the pleasure of seconding personnel to your general staff, and the privilege of assisting in the establishment of a specialised military diving school.

We have come to appreciate our co-operation in fields as diverse as local government, health, integration of minorities and language training, education and science, and the legal sector.

The cultural field has been particularly fertile ground.

We are honoured that the Latvian Symphony Orchestra in Riga has a Norwegian conductor. The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by your great compatriot Mariss Jansons.

Our cultural bonds have a long history.

Two hundred years ago the playwright Ludvig Holberg, a native of this town, was translated into Latvian. At the beginning of the previous century your great poet Karlis Skalbe spent time in exile in Norway.

Starting this autumn, our programme "Focus on the Baltics" will further improve my country’s cultural contacts with the Baltic states.

When people meet, relations take hold and understanding grows.

Tourism is developing. Young Latvian men and women attend folk high-schools in Norway. A number of Norwegian students have studied in Latvia. There is co-operation between places of learning.

We stand only at the beginning of a new era, rich in prospects and opportunities.

Madam President,

Your own life mirrors the Latvian drama of the 20 ^th> century. You were born in an independent Latvia before the Second World War. The dramatic events of that war forced your family to flee Latvia for Germany. You spent several years in refugee camps at a time when Europe was not whole and free, but torn by poverty and division.

You returned from many years of exile in Canada only in 1998, to be elected to your country’s highest office the following year.

Today you mirror the modern face of your proud nation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I salute the President of the Republic of Latvia.

Please join me in a toast to Her Excellency Mrs. Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Mr. Freibergs, and to the prosperity and well-being of the Latvian people.