Opening statement at 6th informal Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting

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Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Let me welcome you all to Norway and to Oslo. This meeting – the 6th time we meet in this forum - represents a unique opportunity to engage in a dialogue on critical issues affecting not only our two regions, but the entire international community. Critical issues such as human security, environmental protection, climate change and how to reform the United Nations.

The importance of personal networks – face-to-face meetings - for discussing common challenges is vital. We should keep this forum as an arena for informal sharing of ideas, views and visions.

Most importantly, the meeting gives us the opportunity to identify impediments to closer cooperation in more formal multilateral bodies and ways of removing these obstacles.

So let me again welcome you to Oslo – and to Holmenkollen – which was, by the way, the venue for the 1952 Winter Olympics, for many big events since, and will be the venue for the upcoming 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships. In the Nordic family we are proud of such traditions and skills, and those of you who arrived yesterday – when the World Cup took place – noticed that winter sports have a very special place in the hearts and minds of us Norwegians.

Friends,

Our meeting is taking place just a few days after a landmark event for Africa and for the rest of the world.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Ghana on its 50th anniversary as an independent state. Ghana’s independence started a long overdue wave of decolonisation and was a watershed in Africa’s history.

It was also an eye-opener for the entire world, demonstrating that a world order based on repression and exploitation is both deeply immoral and unsustainable.

A few years back, meetings between African and Nordic ministers would focus almost exclusively on development assistance. But today relations between Africa and the Nordic countries cover a broad range of foreign policy areas – and indeed domestic policy areas - from combating HIV/AIDS, to energy security, the WTO negotiations and the fight against terrorism.

Don’t get me wrong: Development cooperation is still needed. It is an obligation. Norway and the other Nordic countries remain committed to their partnership with Africa in development and poverty reduction.

Increasingly, the interaction between our regions also extends to cultural exchange and sports. A growing number of excellent African musicians, artists, writers and footballers have deservedly become household names and made media headlines. It’s exciting that in 2010, the Football World Cup will be held in South Africa – on African soil for the first time. A Norwegian has recently been appointed CEO of South Africa’s Premier Soccer League. We are all patriots – today we are global patriots. Also in terms of tourism, the potential is immense, but largely untapped.

Next week, the Norwegian government will launch its new Africa policy strategy. It takes into account the links between development policy and foreign policy. It reflects that our dialogue with Africa goes far beyond the traditional aid relationship. So it reflects – above all - the growing diversity of our relations with this large continent. The basic tenet of the new policy is that Norway and Africa have common interests. Peace, prosperity and development in Africa are in Norway’s interest and in Europe’s interest. – It is as evident, as simple as that, and as complex as that. Interdependence.

We see that foreign policy perspectives are changing and expanding. – Take health issues as an example. Few factors are of such fundamental importance for human life and social development. Health issues have direct foreign policy relevance in a number of areas - in conflict areas, in connection with epidemics and as an arena for confidence-building, cross-conflict cooperation. I would like to mention that Norway and France have taken the initiative to develop a closer dialogue, and, together with an established group of countries from all parts of the world, will present proposals for putting health issues on the international political agenda.

Friends,

The first item on our agenda is peace and security challenges in Africa. We need to take a holistic approach to this complex issue. We will never succeed in creating peace in Africa unless we understand – and act accordingly - that the root causes of conflict – poverty, human rights abuses and the lack of democracy – are tackled. And vice versa, peace and security are prerequisites for sustainable development. Development and peace are closely connected.

Encouragingly, the number of conflicts in Africa has decreased significantly. Recent history clearly demonstrates that through determined efforts at the national, regional and international levels, peace is attainable - even in situations where brutality, hopelessness and erosion of the social fabric are the order of the day. But the conflicts that are still raging are causing untold human suffering, deprivation and devastation.

African states have often emphasised that African conflicts should be managed by Africa itself. Of course, this is the commendable approach. It is evident. It reflects the genuine willingness to put one’s own house in order. It reflects the very principle of ownership. Africa has a responsibility – but we also have a responsibility. I certainly welcome the new role and commitment of the African Union in conflict management.

But still – I believe the complexity and magnitude of some of the challenges clearly suggest that substantial assistance from international partners is required.

Some security issues are more concrete than others. As many of you are aware, Norway has taken an initiative to start a process towards an international ban on cluster munitions. So far 47 countries have declared their support to a declaration on this issue. I will take this opportunity to point out that the door is open for all countries to join this partnership.

Friends,

Conflicts are often both caused and fuelled by exploitation of natural resources. The film “Blood Diamond”, released a few months ago, may be a Hollywood version of a complex problem. Nevertheless, it illustrates the immense challenges posed by natural resource exploitation in conflict areas.

Indeed, sustainable natural resource management could be the most important tool for preventing conflicts. I welcome the fact that a number of African countries now have committed themselves to implementing  the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

As Dr Amartya Sen – the 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics – put it in his book Development as Freedom, there can be no real rights or freedom for individuals, no real security, no long-term investments, there can be no effective discharge of responsibility and accountability for protecting the environment, without the effective, accountable and impartial exercise of state authority and law enforcement.

Sustainable management of natural resources is also critical in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change – that is the second main theme of this meeting.

Climate change is one of the most severe threats ever to face mankind - as confirmed by the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which makes sobering reading. The costs of global warming will fall most heavily on those who bear the least responsibility for the current state of affairs.

This makes climate change a central issue of justice and ethics in world politics. Hundreds of millions of people could suffer the effects of water shortages, hunger and flooding, and become climate refugees as the world warms. Africa will face more formidable challenges than many other regions. Thus, even though Africa hardly contributes to the problem, Africans must adapt to climate changes that will affect them severely.

We are all aware of the global problem – but the international community is still divided, unable to agree on the nature and urgency of the problem, and on what to do about it. The Kyoto Protocol covers only 30 per cent of global emissions. More countries must come on board. The world needs an internationally agreed framework which allows developing economies to grow, but at the same time protects the environment from disaster.

The film we will show before we wrap up today – “Impacts of a warming climate” – is certainly food for thought for us all. Who would have thought just a few years ago that one of the main priorities for Norway’s current chairmanship of the Arctic Council would coincide with a key issue at an African Union summit?

In any case, we need to approach the challenges presented by climate change within a multilateral context. And that brings me to the third and final theme on our agenda – the need for a strong UN. 

We want a more effective UN, a UN that can strengthen existing international rules and create new ones, a UN that secures peace, protects human rights and fosters development. We want reform because the UN is our most important means of creating a better world.

But the organisation has an outdated architecture, too many old mandates, and too many tasks in relation to its resources. We must also bear in mind the obvious limitations of the alternatives to the UN – unilateral solutions where individual countries take matters into their own hands. Let’s be clear about it: Go-it-alone approaches have failed all too often.

Both African and Nordic countries benefit from a strong and effective UN. Yet, deliberations are often characterised by a polarisation between Western and African countries.

During our discussions on this topic, we should address the issue of how to avoid this polarisation, how we can take the High-level Panel’s recommendations forward, how we can best make use of the new Peacebuilding Commission, and how African and Nordic countries can contribute to bridging the gap in the discussions on Security Council reform. In operational terms, could we envisage a Nordic-African consultation mechanism for addressing UN issues on a regular basis?

Dear friends,

After these initial reflections on the issues on the agenda, let me, in concluding, express how highly I value this unique forum, where African and Nordic partners, in an informal setting, and as friends, can discuss foreign policy issues of common concern.

I hope that through frank and open discussions today and tomorrow we will come one step closer to actually resolving the pressing issues on the agenda. In other words, let’s move from talking the talk to walking the walk.

Thank you.