World EXPO 2010: Opening of Norway Day

大家好！
欢迎光临挪威日！

(Good morning everyone! Welcome to the Norway Day / Velkommen til Norges Dag)

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be here for the Norway Day at Shanghai World EXPO 2010. This is a truly spectacular EXPO – and I would like to congratulate the Chinese people on this achievement.

Norway Day is an outstanding opportunity to promote and strengthen the fruitful relations between China and Norway. I am confident that this day will represent Sino–Norwegian cooperation at its very best.

Shanghai has been the centre of Norwegian commercial activities in China since the 19th century, and it is here that the majority of Norwegian companies in China are based today.

Norway has chosen “Powered by Nature” – or in Chinese – 挪威，大自然的赋予 - as its slogan to address the Expo theme “Better City, Better Life”. City life is determined by the city’s relationship with nature – this precious source for inspiration, relaxation and recreation. The Norwegian EXPO Pavilion not only represents innovative architecture, but also introduces a concept for sustainable use of wood, with a simple yet sophisticated wooden structure.

Shanghai World EXPO is taking place at a time when the world is looking for a new kind of balance. Climate change, polluted air and damage to eco-systems pose a serious threat to our future, and are exerting acute pressure on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. The Norwegian Government has cooperated extensively with Chinese stakeholders on environmental issues for more than a decade. These are clearly areas where our common commitments are producing real, lasting results.

I have seen for myself the impact climate change has already had in the Arctic, and I am pleased to know that China and Norway are also cooperating on scientific research in the polar areas.

During the last few years, an increasing number of Norwegian companies have become engaged in the Chinese market for renewable energies and energy efficiency. China and Norway have also established extensive cooperation and dialogue in important areas such as human rights, the Norwegian welfare model and good governance. We have much to learn from one another, and the scope of our cooperation is expanding.

Shanghai World EXPO is a unique event that will inspire new ideas, technologies and products. Norway will use EXPO as a showcase for shared knowledge and technology within the fields of marine and maritime products, shipping, oil technology and renewable energy.

Education is a key to development and human dignity and allows us to look towards the future. Great opportunities lie ahead, in further and extended educational exchanges and cooperation between our two countries. Many of the guides at this pavilion are students from China and Norway. They are great ambassadors, and belong to a generation that will live with the fruits of what is being sown today.

I would like to congratulate each and everyone who has been involved in the preparations for Norway’s participation in the Shanghai World Expo and the Norway Day.

谢谢。
(thank you)