”It is very gratifying that Mr. Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is an homage to their crucial efforts to stop nuclear proliferation, in order to prevent the use of such weapons in conflicts between states or in terrorist attacks”, Norway’s Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said today.

“Mohamed ElBaradei is an outstanding leader with great integrity. He has always sought to achieve results by negotiations. We saw this clearly during the period before the Iraq war, when he all the way to the end requested that the international weapons inspectors continued their work”, the Prime Minister said.

“Mr. ElBaradei is working intensively for the IAEA to have increased access to ongoing nuclear programmes. This is crucial to our common security, and I am very pleased that the Norwegian Nobel Committee underlines the importance of these efforts in their decision this year”, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said.