Secretary General visits Norway and addresses NATO parliamentarians
On 25-26 May 2009 the Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, paid a farewell visit to Oslo. He held meetings with Prime Minister Stoltenberg, Foreign Minister Støre and Defence Minister Strøm-Erichsen. He was also received by His Majesty King Harald V.
Discussions focused on NATO’s post-summit agenda, including the upcoming update of the Alliance Strategic Concept, relations with Russia and new security challenges facing Allies. Talks covered as well NATO’s key operational engagements, in particular in Afghanistan. Secretary General paid tribute to Norway’s active role in NATO, both in shaping a political debate and participating in military operations.
On 26 May, Secretary General addressed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly session, gathering parliamentarians from NATO, Partner and other countries. In his speech he said: “I see three major challenges for our Alliance – challenges that to a considerable extent will define NATO’s future; and challenges that also demonstrate the crucial role of our parliaments. If I were asked to label these challenges, I would call them the solidarity challenge, the challenge of institutional cooperation, and the resource challenge”.
Afterwards he took part in the joint meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the North Atlantic Council (NAC).