The visit of HRH Prince Saud Al Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia

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Your Royal Highness,

ahlan wa sahlan – heartily welcome – velkommen!

Or perhaps it would be appropriate to use the Muslim greeting of as-salaam alaykum – since we are in the building where the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded in a couple of weeks.

In any case, it is a great pleasure for me to greet you for the first time in Norway – and, in fact, as the first foreign minister from Saudi Arabia to visit Norway. Arab hospitality is legendary, so I hope you feel as welcome in this country as I felt in yours, back in April.

And I appreciate your courage in visiting us at this time of year. It may be cold outside, but let us take comfort in sharing a meal here in the Edvard Munch Room, where so many warm feelings have blossomed. For decades, it used to be the Town Hall’s wedding venue. Countless couples have tied the knot in this very room.

The room takes its name from Norway’s greatest visual artist, Edvard Munch, due to the centrepiece you see on the wall. It is simply titled Livet – Life. 

Edvard Munch’s colourful and often symbolic paintings seldom need translation. But when I think of the Arabian Peninsula’s rich contribution to the world’s cultural heritage, what first springs to mind is its great poetic tradition, and the Arabic language in which Prophet Muhammad received the Holy Quran.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the Arab world, I believe we need more translations of its wide range of classic and modern literature into Norwegian. And, likewise, more Norwegian writers should seek readership in the Middle East.

We may come from two countries that are very different in terms of language, culture, climate and geography. But we live in a globalised world, and we share an ambition to ease tensions in today’s Middle East – and in particular to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As we know all too well, this conflict is having detrimental effects far beyond the region. As Chair of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, I consider the strong partnership with Saudi Arabia to be very important, and your engagement is essential.

As exporters of natural resources and capital, Norway and Saudi Arabia also have common interests in solving the current economic turmoil. We must find joint solutions to the many challenges and problems we all share. – The world economy is in urgent need of repair. – The inconvenient truth of climate change must dealt with. – The threats to human security from violent conflicts, poverty, fragile states and terrorist acts must be met with the right responses.

As one important step, I believe that if we enhance our dialogue with other nations and regions, we will also find that our values and perspectives converge. Therefore, I appreciate the bold initiative taken by King Abdullah for an interfaith dialogue, which was discussed last week at the UN General Assembly in New York. The discourse between religious groups has far too often been polarised and dominated by extremes. We must ensure that the agenda is set by those who support peaceful and respectful dialogue. When the writer Amin Maalouf visited Oslo in June he said at a guest lecture, “We need to demonstrate that religion is about souls and values and the beauty of life; that is still able to fulfil its original task, which is to lead humankind towards salvation and, in this troubled world, towards survival.”

Respect for fundamental and universal human rights is vital for creating a stable international legal order, for all countries and all human beings. Respect for the individual, on the one hand, and efforts to bring about peace, development and justice, on the other, are inextricably linked. I was pleased to meet members of the Saudi Arabian Human Rights Commission in Riyadh in April, and to learn about their work. We have invited representatives of the Commission to Norway, and we are looking forward to continuing our discussions.

As Norwegian companies are expanding their engagement in the Gulf region, I would like to underline the importance of the business community’s contribution also to human rights. Norway is now leading efforts in the UN to clarify the social responsibility of corporations with respect to human rights.

Our talks this morning showed that we agree in our analysis of many political and economic issues. For example, both our countries are producers of fossil energy with a great deal of high technology expertise. Saudi Arabia – like Norway – is committing resources to carbon capture and storage – perhaps one of the most promising approaches to cutting CO2 emissions. Norwegian companies offer special expertise in the energy sector. Their engagement in the field of complementary energy sources is increasing.

Representatives of some Norwegian enterprises are also present here today. And I would like to propose that we give each of them an opportunity to introduce themselves and their activities.

But before doing so, let me again turn to Arabic – at least I’ll try to do so. Someone told me about a saying that I find apt in these times of transition and change: fil-haraka, baraka – in movement there is blessing. Indeed there are blessings to be had, if we move forward together, and jointly take on the many global challenges facing us all.