President Klaus,
Mrs Klausová,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you, Mr President, your wife and your delegation to this dinner here at the Akershus Castle.

This is the first visit to Norway by a Czech head of state since the Czech Republic became a member of NATO and the European Union. Today we are partners in NATO and partners in the European Economic Area. This provides important new opportunities for co-operation.

Mr President,

You last visited Norway in 1994, when you attended the opening of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

I am happy this time to present to you a different Norway. Instead of darkness during the daytime, you can now experience daylight far into the evening.

The relations between our two countries are excellent.

In the past our countries had numerous contacts with each other, and now rapid integration and expanded European co-operation are bringing us closer together than ever before.

Next year, Norway will be celebrating the 100 ^th> anniversary of independence from Sweden. This independence was gained peacefully, as a result of negotiations.

Mr President, you played an instrumental part in the peaceful dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation. This process was conducted in an exemplary way, preserving as it did the close relations between the Czech and Slovak peoples.

In the years since the Velvet Revolution, you have been a key political figure in Prague. You have made an active contribution to your country’s impressive transition to a stable democracy with a market economy.

Mr President,

I would like to congratulate you on your membership of the European Union. The enlargement of the EU by 10 new countries is a historic event. It will make a substantial contribution to political stability and welfare in Europe.

While we are not ourselves a member of the EU, Norway gave political and financial support to the candidate countries in their preparations for joining the Union.

We will continue our policy of close co-operation with the EU and continue to take our share of the responsibility for the future of Europe.

We look forward to a further developing of our bilateral ties through our partnership in the European Economic Area.

We both wish to further expand our economic relations. The agreement on the sale of natural gas to the Czech Republic has been important in this connection. I can also tell you that Škoda cars have become very popular in Norway.

I believe there is a strong potential for more extensive business co-operation. Several Norwegian companies have made substantial investments in the Czech Republic, and I hope others will follow suit.

Both our countries have a strong commitment to NATO.

Your country hosted the very successful NATO summit in November 2002, a summit that paved the way for the most recent round of NATO enlargement.

Norway was one of the founding members of NATO in 1949. The political events in Prague in 1948 significantly influenced Norway’s decision to join NATO a year later.

What binds our countries and peoples together are the values, ideas and goals we share.

You have fought relentlessly for freedom and democracy. I have had the privilege of following these efforts at close hand, first during my visit to your country as part of a political youth delegation in the historic year 1968, and later as foreign minister in 1990 shortly after the Velvet revolution. I visited your country again in 1997, when I attended the celebration of the 20 ^th> anniversary of Charter 77.

I also recall with great pleasure my visit to your country last year, and my meeting with you, Mr President.

Norwegians and Czechs have a strong national tradition. Both peoples have preserved their values and identity. They have fostered outstanding figures in the fields of music, literature and art.

This year, which is the centenary of the death of Antonín Dvorák, you are celebrating the Year of Czech Music. Similarly, we will be marking the centenary of the death of Henrik Ibsen in 2006.

There is a good deal of cultural contact between our two peoples. Cultural exchanges are a key to greater understanding between nations. We need such understanding to meet the many global challenges of today.

We Norwegians are proud of our skiing tradition, and as you, Mr President, and Mrs Klausová are enthusiastic skiers, you will know that the word “ski” is of Norwegian origin.

There are also certain Czech words that have become international. One of the most notable is perhaps robot, which was introduced by the writer Karel Čapek. The word echoes the strong technological tradition of the Czech nation. This is reflected in the co-operation between the universities of technology in our two countries.

We also appreciate the fact that you are training some 80 Norwegian students of medicine.

And we are pleased to see that many of your young countrymen have a strong interest in Norway. I am told that 25 Czech students at the Charles University in Prague and the Masaryk University in Brno have chosen to study Norwegian.

The Lonely Planet guide tells us that the Czech Republic’s distinctive character is due to the character and temperament of the people – friendly, easy-going and full of life. Then add your beautiful and ancient capital of Prague, your splendid mountains, your wonderful spas, your stunning architecture and your rich musical culture, which ranges from classical to jazz and punk. No wonder thousands of Norwegians visit your country every year.

I have fond memories of my many visits to your beautiful country. I hope you will enjoy your stay in Norway just as much.

I would like quote Karel Čapek, who visited Norway in the 1930s and wrote a book about it. He concluded by saying that Norway was a fine country with a fine people; the only bad memories he had were the mosquitoes and a kind of food that he didn’t like the look of and that for safety’s sake he didn’t try to eat. I hope you have not had the same experience at this dinner.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you all to join me in a toast to President Klaus and Mrs Klausová, and to close and fruitful relations between our two countries in the years to come.