Opening remarks at launching of "Sophie's World" in Thai

Distinguished Literati, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. I can think of no place in Asia where these words of Rudyard Kipling ring more hollow than here in Bangkok.

Over the centuries, Thailand has shown a remarkable willingness to engage both the East and the West, seeking the best of both worlds for the betterment of its own people. As Norwegians expand political, economic, and cultural ties with the countries and peoples of Asia, we draw inspiration from the Thai example. We learn, develop, and prosper through engagement, yet, remain true to our own customs and traditions.

In 1907, only two years after Norway had regained its independence, King Chulalongkorn of Siam visited my country on a journey through Europe. His Majesty travelled all the way up to the North Cape, to the rugged and beautiful land of the midnight sun. The King was a most perceptive traveller, eager to learn and always open to new ideas. We know this from his diary, written in the form of letters to his daughter.

These letters have been published in Thailand under the title "Klai Baan", which I understand means "Far away from home". But it is only now, nearly 90 years after the King's famous Odyssey, that a substantial portion of his letters are available in Oslo, in a book entitled "Travelogue from Norway".

I have been told that there are three difficulties in authorship: to write anything worth publishing, to find honest men to publish it, and to get sensible men to read it. With his novel "Sophie's World", Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder has managed to overcome all three difficulties. He has written a critically acclaimed book which can be viewed as a combination of a story for teenagers, a thriller, and a history of philosophy. "Sophie's World" has been translated into 40 different languages and was the world's best selling fiction title in 1995.

I am delighted to be part of today's introduction of "Sophie's World" and Jostein Gaarder to Thai readers. The author himself and Mr. Chaiwat of Kobfai Publishing Project will tell you more about the book and its release in Thailand. I want to stress the importance of this event from the point of view of cultural and intellectual exchange between our two countries. In this edition of "Sophie's World", East meets West, confirming that art is to share, art is to communicate. Thai readers meet the great European philosophers and their works, which help provide answers to a fourteen-year-old Norwegian girl grappling with questions about her own existence.

In the introduction to "Sophie's World", the narrator quotes Goethe: "He who cannot balance his accounts over three thousand years, is merely living from hand to mouth". Sophie asks who she is and where she comes from. She finds that her own identity, her own values, is the product of numerous cultural influences and has roots that go back millennia. Goethe reminds us why this kind of perspective is so important.

As Norway and Thailand continue to engage one another, we see culture as an important meeting place. Through cultural exchange we learn more about each other and about ourselves. We discover, as did Sophie, a community of values and aspirations behind differences in culture and artistic expression.

In closing, let me draw your attention to the Norwegian tapestries surrounding us. They are turn-of-the-century weavings depicting the kings and gods, princesses and trolls, dragons and other mythical creatures of Norwegian fables and old Norse mythology. They are part of our Norwegian world of dreams and imagination, yet, they symbolize deeply rooted and universal ideas of good and evil which I believe will be familiar to a Thai audience.

Thank you.