31/05/2005 ::
Norway is an old nation, but a young State. More than 1100 years ago, Harold Fairhair became the first King to conquer the whole of Norway. The Viking era saw increasing Norwegian prominence, until internal feudes and the the plague wiped out two-thirds of Norway's population.
Norway came under Danish rule for nearly 450 years, until we entered union with Sweden. A few weeks of independence in this transition was enough to establish the Norwegian National Assembly, the Storting, which adopted the Norwegian Constitution on May 17, 1814. This Constitution is the oldest constitution still in force in Europe. It was the Storting which dissolved the union with Sweden in 1905 by unanimous vote.
It is therefore particularly gratifying to be able to greet Ch. Amir Hussain, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on this occation.
Neither management of natural resources such as oil or fish nor securing peace and economic growth for instrance in the shipping or telecom industry can be done without regard for the interdependence of nations. The future of our own people is interlinked with others. Norwegian development cooperation with Pakistan reflects the fact that it is in our interest to support Pakistan in achieving its own goals for development. Combating poverty through strenghtening primary education and good governance including improving respect for Human Rights are the mainstays of this longstanding cooperation.
Nearly 30.000 Norwegians have Pakistani background, and constitute the largest ethnically non-Norwegian group in Norway. The first etnically non-Norwegian to be elected Member our National Assembly is a young Pakistani woman. Commercial and other people-to-people relations are also playing a growing part in the Pakistani-Norwegian relationship, highlighted by the recent launch of Telenor’s mobile services in Pakistan.