Toast
to Norwegian Secretary of State Strommen
Toast given by Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary
of State
(Latin America and Africa) in honour of
Wegger Christian Strommen, State Secretary,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norway,
September 20, 1999, Lester Pearson Building,
Ottawa
Secretary
of State Strommen, Ambassador Jon Lovald,
who with his Alberta-born wife lives about
100 metres from my house, and our other
Norwegian friends, let me say how much we
have appreciated your coming here today.
We will have
the opportunity to share not only some food.
We will also share our thinking about how
countries such as Canada and Norway can
help reduce conflict internationally and
assist in building peace. The work we are
doing demonstrates once again that it is
not necessary to be a superpower in order
to have a positive impact on the international
scene. There is much scope for countries
that are imaginative, energetic and that
have learned how to leverage their influence
through other partners, civil society and
multilateral institutions.
Et permettez-moi
de réitérer jusqu’à
quel point je demeure impressionné
par ce que la Norvège a pu réaliser
grâce à l’action directe,
sur la scène internationale, de dirigeants
politiques tels que M. Strommen.
In reflecting
on the development of our human security
partnership since the Lysoen Declaration
of May, 1998, I am also impressed by how
Norway and Canada have attracted a range
of other collaborating countries. This will
be demonstrated later this week when Minister
Axworthy will be hosting a meeting of our
human security network in New York.
Thus we have
begun an important process, one that exchanges
such as those we are having today help to
nurture, as East Timor still rings in our
heads.
And so, I
would ask all of us to join in toasting
the friendship of Norway and Canada, and
our joint work to enhance the security of
our fellow humans.
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