Honorable Minister of Planning, Finance and Economy,
Distinguished guests,
Friends,

First of all, let me thank you thoroughly for inviting not only me, but my entire delegation (including the representatives of the Norwegian media), to this dinner.

If I may, I would like to take the opportunity right away to present to you, briefly, (not all the members of my delegation but) the members of the Norwegian Aids Forum, accompanying me on this trip.

-Gunnar Stålsett is Bishop of Oslo

- Yngve Hågensen is former President of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions

- Karl Glad is Judge in the Industrial Disputes Court and former Director General of the Confederation of Norwegian Business

- Monica Larsson is Project Manager in "Involve Yourself", a Norwegian NGO, representing the Norwegian Refugee Council

- Gro Brækken is Secretary General in Save the Children Norway

- Tomm Kristiansen is Foreign News Editor with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation

- Anders Krystad is Executive Officer in the Norwegian Football Federation

- Erling Melsom is Secretary General in the Norwegian Association against AIDS

The idea of bringing together such a multi-faceted group of individuals and organizations to pursue one common purpose - fighting AIDS - was not a Norwegian invention; it was African – and I stole it.

(You may quote me on that!)

You may (or may not) wonder why I wanted to go to Uganda for a visit such as this one. It was not only because we have excellent bilateral relations with Uganda. Nor was it just because we consider ourselves an important partner in your development efforts. Or, for that matter, because we feel free to come here any time to discuss with you different issues of mutual interest.

The main reason was - and is - that we really feel that we have a lot to learn from the Ugandan experience in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

- Uganda was one of the first countries to openly address the problem, and one of the first countries to understand the immense negative potential of the disease, if left unchecked.

You met this scourge head on.

You stressed the importance of knowledge, care and openness.

You dismissed prejudice and superstition.

You demonstrated leadership.

You continue to lead the way, for others to follow.

And your efforts have borne fruit.

The spread of the disease may actually have culminated in Uganda.

If so, that’s a major achievement.

Our ambition, Honorable Minister, is not only to learn about your positive experience, but to be able to use it in our development efforts with other partners - bilaterally as well as multilaterally.

As I mentioned, we consider the relationship between our two countries to be excellent. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have issues of contention in our relationship; we do. But it means that we can sit down and discuss more difficult issues - like the conflict in the DR Congo, corruption in public office and the building of democracy - calm, cool and collected, in an atmosphere of mutual confidence.

As you know, we have a continuous dialogue on these and other matters with your government, through our Embassy here, and in other relevant fora. Today we aired our views and concerns in meetings with the Right Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs and in a meeting with you, yourself.

This should not be interpreted as untimely lecturing from our side, but rather a sign of confidence and strong partnership.

Minister, before closing, may I congratulate you on the renewed confidence that your President has displayed in again appointing you Minister of Finance in his new government, after the recent parliamentary elections. Congratulations and good luck!

By the way, less than a month from now we also will face parliamentary elections in Norway. Right now, the polls don’t look too good (for my political party, that is). So if you have any good ideas on what to do - and what not to - I’m all ears!

Again, thank you for inviting us to this table,

and thank you for your attention.

* * *

I know that in Uganda, when the big drums have sounded, the small drums should keep quiet. But I will make an exception this time - and invite one of the members of my delegation to say a few words.

Mr. Krystad, please tell us what is on your mind this evening.