Welcoming remarks at informal meeting of the North Atlantic Council

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Secretary-General, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, 

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Oslo and to Norway – almost at the top of Europe – a country as far north as Alaska, and as far east as Turkey.  

Norway has benefited from the security provided by NATO ever since the Alliance was formed. This was the case during the frozen years of the cold war, and it is still the case today now that so much has changed. 

Just think: for nearly half a century the Barents Sea and the High North were associated with confrontation and tension between East and West.  

Today the High North is emerging as a region of cooperation. Addressing the challenges and utilising the opportunities that this entails is a key priority of Norway’s foreign policy.  

A number of countries in the region are working together on Arctic research, the dangers posed by climate change, the management of marine resources, and the search for energy – all topics of paramount importance to our future prosperity, and indeed our survival. 

To give you just one example: in a few months the first tanker with liquefied natural gas will leave North Norway for Norfolk in the United States. This will add another dimension to our transatlantic partnership. 

Both energy security and climate change are part of our broader security agenda. They are common challenges that can only be met through close international cooperation, including with Russia. 

The developments in this region illustrate how the transatlantic community is renewing itself and continues to be strong and vibrant.  

Meanwhile, our most immediate challenges are related to our NATO operations – one at the other end of Europe, in Kosovo, and the other far outside our continent, in Afghanistan. Norway is a dependable contributor to both. 

We are determined that both operations will be a success – in a way that enhances the credibility of our Alliance. For the credibility of our Alliance – based on the values that we share – is the ultimate key to our individual and collective security. 

We have already come far in developing cooperation in all these areas. Here in Oslo, we are meeting as an Alliance, we will be meeting with EU members as a transatlantic community, and we will also be meeting with our Russian and Ukrainian colleagues as partners.  

In the coming months the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU will become stronger as EU missions deploy in Kosovo and Afghanistan. We are working together with the UN in these efforts, on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions.  

In short, the international community is coming together. As it must. It is my hope that our Oslo meetings will unite us further.