President Mandela,

It is a great honour for me, on behalf of the Norwegian Government and the people of Norway, to welcome you to our country.

You have been here before.

Your first visit was only months after your release from 27 years in prison.

As foreign minister I had the honour to receive you then, and I was deeply impressed. You were not filled with bitterness, but with a strong desire for reconciliation.

Twelve years ago, you were here to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. You were welcomed as a hero then – as you are now.

In 1999 you were back on one of your last state visits as President of South Africa.

President Mandela, you have become a world-wide symbol of unwavering belief in human dignity, peace and reconciliation. Everyone knows you. Everyone respects you. Everyone listens to you.

I am glad to see you back!

The ties between Norway and South Africa are numerous, strong and longstanding.

For more than a hundred years, the people of our two countries have stood together in the fight for freedom, democracy and justice. The church, the trade unions, the many, many personal bonds between Norwegians and South Africans – all of this has made it possible for us to meet common challenges, to reach common goals.

Today we need to stand together in the fight against AIDS and poverty.

The fight for fairness and justice goes on – for the millions who live in poverty, who struggle to survive, who suffer every day.

Today you are here to support the Millennium Development Goals and remind us that this year, 2005, is a milestone year.

This is the year we need to see everybody deliver on their promises - rich and poor countries alike.

Tomorrow the finance ministers of the G8 countries will meet in London.

The G8-leaders will receive a letter from me urging them to deliver at their meeting in July.

They must keep their word.
They must agree on more aid.
More debt relief.

And, a stronger effort for Africa.

Health will be crucial.
And we know the name of our greatest enemy – AIDS.

We have increased our efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to promote better health.

Norway is now spending almost two billion kroner a year on these efforts.

Most of this money goes to Africa. And there is more to come.

But money alone is not enough. The health systems in Africa are collapsing.

Cheaper treatment and new vaccines will not help the millions who need them unless there are health workers there to deliver these services.

The past few years have seen a steady stream of doctors and nurses leaving Africa, heading for Europe and North America.

This is a crisis of such proportions that it is seriously undermining our development efforts. Sub-Saharan Africa needs one million new health care workers urgently in order to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

Both rich and poor countries are part of this problem. It is a question of salaries and working conditions, of public versus private, of our needs versus theirs, of a major brain drain.

Norway will make sure this issue is addressed, as we continue to be in the forefront pressing for world-wide solutions to world-wide problems.

President Mandela, you once said that

“We must forever realise that the time is always ripe to do right.”

This is indeed the time to do right – for Africa and for the world’s poor.

Thank you for challenging us to do more.