NATO HQ Brussels 1 March 2006

Speech Opening statement by Secretary General at the meeting of the Council with H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway Allow me to open this meeting of the North Atlantic Council with non-NATO ISAF contributors in the presence of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway Your Royal Highness, it is a pleasure for me to welcome you on behalf of all Allies and non-NATO ISAF contributors alike to our meeting this morning, although, forgive me for saying, you have brought a touch of the Norwegian weather with you this morning. Your Royal Highness, I know that you are no stranger to political and military matters. You have served your country in the Navy on torpedo boats, and you have studied political science at Universities in the US and the UK . I know that your studies in the UK focused on development issues, and I therefore hope that you will find the discussion this morning, during your first visit to the NAC, of personal interest. One of our visiting speakers today, Dr Kim Howells of the UK will brief us on UK efforts in the fields of counter-narcotics and sustainable alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers in Afghanistan . I hope this discussion will demonstrate clearly that, as our security environment changes, NATO must continue to be both a political, as well as a military organization. For, as you will have studied, democracy and other western values will never take root in a nation like Afghanistan through military means alone. I also offer a warm welcome to Dan Fried, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Dr Kim Howells, Minister of State, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. With those words of welcome to our guests this morning and before we move to the formal agenda allow me to offer the floor to Crown Prince Haakon. Your Royal Highness, you have the floor.