- The award of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Dr Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) highlights one of the most serious security challenges facing the world today, said Foreign Minister Jan Petersen.

The Nobel Committee’s choice is a clear recognition of Dr ElBaradei’s important work through many years as Director General of the IAEA.

Mr Petersen emphasised that Dr ElBaradei is an outstanding leader of the IAEA. - He is a man of great integrity and has always sought to achieve results through negotiation. We saw this clearly in the run-up to the Iraq war, where he insisted to the very last that the weapons inspectors must be allowed to continue their work. Norway has supported Dr ElBaradei as head of the IAEA. His recent re-election for a third term demonstrates that he enjoys broad international support.

The IAEA is facing great challenges. Its efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons are particularly important. Greater access for the IAEA to nuclear programmes is key here, and is also an issue that Dr ElBaradei has chosen to focus on. The Peace Prize is an important signal of the importance the Nobel Committee attaches to these efforts, according to the Foreign Minister.

- The award of the Peace Prize to Dr ElBaradei and the IAEA is also important to the work Norway is doing to promote nuclear disarmament efforts and strengthen the international nonproliferation regime. I am confident that Norway and the IAEA together can achieve a great deal in this area, said Mr Petersen.