Minister, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to follow an old Norwegian tradition by taking the floor in order to say a few words of acknowledgement on behalf of myself and my delegation.

In spite of our two countries beeing the perhaps most different countries of the world – Norway – the smallest in the north – and China – the biggest in the east – we can look back upon a long relationship. The first Norwegian ship arrived in Shanghai in 1846. Five years later the union of Sweden and Norway established a vice consulate in Shanghai. Furthermore, Norway was among the very first countries to establish formal relations with the People’s Republic of China some fifty years ago. And in 1963, Norway, as the first country in the western world, signed a cultural agreement with China.

Contact and exchange of culture and ideas contributes to a stimulating dialogue between individuals and nations. Largely the Norwegian culture has been formed and developed through impulses from the world outside our borders. The encouragement of cultural diversity and exchange of cultural expressions is a cornerstone in Norwegian cultural policy.

I am therefore very satisfied to have learned that this year Norwegian cultural institutions will host Chinese artists on several occasions. Just a couple of weeks ago, "HOTPOT", an extremely vital exhibition of Chinese contemporary art was opened in Oslo.

Earlier this year one of our symphonic orchestras gave a concert with a varied program of Chinese music conducted by Chen Zuo-Huang. Two Chinese musicians completed the orchestra and the subsequent press–reports were very enthusiastic. In May the Chinese opera Zhang Xie Zhuang Yuan will be performed by Chinese artists at the Bergen International Festival. At the International Folk Music Festival in Førde, Norway, "Music along the Silk Road" is the theme of the year and Shaanxi Percussion Ensemble from Xian will perform.

I am also happy to have in my company two Norwegian Jazz musicians, Sidsel Endresen and Bugge Wesseltoft - and their sound designer - who made a workshop yesterday , with Chinese colleagues and are giving a concert at The Loft tonight. I`m also proud that today the very well-renowned Norwegian film "Søndagsengler" (Sunday Angles) will be shown at the Beijing Film Academy.

In our age, however, the increasing internationalisation and globalisation also pose a cultural challenge to both small and large countries alike. For a small country like Norway, the rapid technological growth may pose a serious threat to the upkeep of our national language. Some scientists have predicted that in perhaps only a decade the official written language of Norway will no longer be Norwegian, but English.

Maintaining a vital Norwegian literary production and translation of foreign literature into Norwegian is one way of protecting our language. Quite recently Chinese and Norwegian authors successfully visited each other in Norway and China and I am quite convinced that this kind of cultural co-operation will prove inspiring to the authors of both countries.

Let me express our gratitude to our Chinese friends for the generous hospitality you have bestowed on us and in order to develop this strategy of literary co-operation further I would like to make a suggestion. In order to promote the translation of Chinese books into Norwegian and vice versa, I hereby invite representatives of a few Chinese publishing houses to visit Norwegian publishers next year.

Let us raise our glasses and toast to the cultural co-operation between China and Norway – and to the health and prosperity of the Chinese people.