Breakfast meeting with Norwegian business representatives in Singapore 2 April 2007

Visit in Singapore 2 April 2007.
Breakfast meeting with Norwegian business representatives.
Introduction

The Minister’s speaking points
(Check against delivery)

• I am in Singapore to participate in the World Health Day event, organised by the WHO and the Government of Singapore, with Prime Minister Lee and Director General Margaret Chan, among others.

• I am also pleased to have this opportunity to meet Norwegian business representatives here at the Embassy.

• I will have political talks with Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong later this morning.

• But – you may ask – why does a foreign minister make time in a busy schedule to travel to the other side of the world for a meeting on health? 

• Globalisation is changing the perception of foreign policy and international relations. We are facing new and pressing challenges, which can only be met through concerted and collaborative efforts. So we need to broaden the scope of foreign policy.

• Health is among the most pressing foreign policy issues of our time. Health is fundamental to economic growth and development.

• Health threats can compromise a country’s or a region’s stability – and even security. Here in this region, SARS illustrated this a few years ago. It was handled well. But we all learnt a lot from that experience. And we know that next time could be far worse.

• Last summer, together with my French colleague, I launched an initiative to highlight the importance of global health as a foreign policy issue.

• We invited colleagues from Brazil, South Africa, Senegal, Indonesia and Thailand to join us in an informal working group. We met again in Oslo two weeks ago, and adopted a political declaration and an Agenda for Action.

• Our aim is to ensure a stronger strategic focus on global health, and that this issue is given a more prominent place on the international agenda. Foreign ministers – due to their role and responsibilities – can add value to international efforts in this area.

• This afternoon, I will have a chance to present perspectives on this work to a public audience. I will emphasise that we want to follow up on these issues by inviting others to join us in our reflection and efforts.

• This initiative is an example of how we are trying to address new challenges – national, regional and global challenges.

• It is also an example of how we are seeking partnerships and building networks across continents and across traditional alliances. This is useful and necessary.

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• The Norwegian authorities attach great importance to the dynamic developments in Asia. The state visit by Their Majesties King Harald V and Queen Sonja to Singapore in 2004 underlined the importance of our bilateral relations. The large business delegation that visited Singapore in connection with the state visit reflected our strong and broad bilateral interests. During the state visit, Norway and Norwegian expertise was highlighted in a positive manner.

• I have been told that this week a book on maritime security is being presented in Oslo. The publication is a result of research cooperation between the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Norway and the Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies here in Singapore. The research project received financial support from my ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The publication should be of particular interest in relation to the considerable Norwegian shipping interests in the region.

• It is well known in Norway that there is an active Norwegian business association in Singapore, and that it has excellent cooperation with the embassy. As you may know, State Secretary Stubholt left for Singapore to participate in your latest business conference here only a day or two after she had joined the Foreign Ministry. This shows the importance we attached to a conference where regional and business challenges were being discussed.

• Building and taking advantage of networks is essential. The close business relations you have established here in Singapore through the NBAS (Norwegian Business Association in Singapore) and the embassy are useful in your activities.

• It is important for this government to support Norwegian business communities abroad. We want to maintain an active dialogue with you to identify the international challenges you are facing and how the foreign service can be used as an instrument to promote your commercial interests. In order to improve our efforts in this field, last year we reorganised the way this work is conducted in the Ministry by concentrating our resources in a new department.

• Doing business at home and abroad presents both opportunities and responsibilities. I note the rapidly growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the business community.

• The aim of Partnerships for Sustainable Development – the Oslo Conference on Good Governance and Social and Environmental Responsibility last week was to take the ongoing debate on business and sustainability beyond CSR by providing a platform for an integrated approach. For this purpose, key players from business, government, academia, trade unions and non-governmental organisations were gathered in Oslo.

• The Oslo conference addressed a broad range of issues: human rights, poverty, decent working standards, environmental performance and improvements, anti-corruption and corporate governance. These are all challenges in the global marketplace. By combining highly specialised and relevant speakers – as Al Gore and Mohammad Yunus – with an almost intimate networking environment, the Oslo Conference was an innovative forum for discussing the important challenges that are facing business with respect to sustainability today. The question is: Can we continue to operate as we always have done, or do we need to think and act in a radically different way?

• Through his book An Inconvenient Truth and the film based on it, former Vice-President Al Gore has convincingly explained to us what will happen to the global climate - unless we immediately change our way of life. “Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe...”.

• Mr Gore’s message does not consist of idle words or scaremongering. Both the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the review produced by Sir Nicholas Stern, the former World Bank Chief Economist, which was commissioned by Prime Minister Tony Blair, point in the same direction.

• The Stern review considers the social costs resulting from anthropogenic climate change, the costs of reducing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the costs of adapting to climate change. There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action - now. It will cost a lot less to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the next few years than to do very little or nothing, because the costs resulting from climate change will be so high in the future. But strong action is required.

• An issue of governance, cooperation and responsibility. As a rich country and a major producer of oil and gas, Norway has a particular responsibility for developing environmental technology, and providing emission control technology to poor countries. We must also facilitate a shift towards more environmentally friendly energy production and use in Norway as well.

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• I would very much have liked to spend more time in Singapore, but that is not possible this time. I hope there will be a next opportunity and that I then can spend more time on talks, visits and briefings. Singapore is a most interesting place to discuss developments in China and India, as well as within ASEAN, and global developments. These issues will also be on the agenda when I meet Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong later this morning.

• However, although my stay will be short, I will take the opportunity later this morning to hear from you about the activities you are engaged in and the challenges you are facing.