Politikk

Nato ønsket velkommen av ordfører Borgen

Natos utenriksministre ble ønsket velkommen til dagens uformelle utenriksministermøte i Oslo rådhus av ordfører Marianne Borgen.

Aktuelt / Publisert: 01.06.2023 / 01.06.2023

Av Byrådslederens kontor — Bystyrets sekretariat

Ordfører Marianne Borgen foran en forsamling av NATOs utenriksministere
Bilde: Torgeir Haugaard/Forsvaret.

Det var en lydhør forsamling som fikk med seg ordførerens ord om fred, dialog og mot, før de gikk inn i møterommet.

Her er talen hun holdt for utenriksministrene

Secretary General, Ministers, dear guests

It is with great pleasure I welcome Ministers of Foreign Affairs to this NATO
meeting of the North Atlantic Council. Welcome to Oslo, and welcome to the
Oslo City Hall. On behalf of the City of Oslo I am honored that you have chosen
Oslo as the venue of your ministerial meeting.

We live in troubled times. Democracy is in decline worldwide, and respect for
national borders, human rights, children’s rights, and respect for human
dignity is threatened in many ways. This is a worrying development.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine affects us deeply. We stand with the Ukrainian
people. In Oslo we have committed ourselves to help where we can, by
receiving refugees and contribute to the reconstruction after the war. We
experience massive support for this among our inhabitants.

"We are now in the very heart of our local democracy in Oslo."

The Oslo City Hall is best known internationally as the venue of the annual
Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Here in the Oslo City Hall, we have welcomed
guests who have, - according to Alfred Nobel’s will: "worked for fraternity
between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the
holding and promotion of peace congresses".

Over the course of time a huge number of Nobel Peace Prize laureates have
delivered their Nobel speeches in the hall below. And I cannot imagine many
locations around the world where so much wisdom of peace, dialogue and
courage has been shared, as from this podium. This gives us hope for the
future.

Last year Oleksandra Matviichuk, spoke on behalf of Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate; Center for Civil Liberties from Ukraine: “Our values matter most not
when it’s easy to embody them, but when it’s really hard.”

And I agree. Our goal must always be peace and absence of human loss and
suffering. But there is no peace without freedom. It takes wisdom and courage
to find the right path. Some might even be pessimistic.

In 2017 The international campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons - ICAN
received the Nobel Peace Prize, and Beatrice Fihn, on behalf of ICAN reminded
us that: “Those who say that future is not possible need to get out of the way
of those making it a reality.”

With these words, it is my sincere hope that the Oslo City Hall, and its history
will be of inspiration and encouragement for your meeting, and I hope the days
you spend here in Oslo will prove to be fruitful and rewarding.

I wish you a successful meeting, and once again, - a warm welcome to Oslo and
the Oslo City Hall.