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HRH Crown Prince Haakon officially opened the Norwegian Embassy in Astana today. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who is accompanying the Crown Prince on the visit, said: “The opening of Norway’s first embassy in Central Asia reflects the region’s growing international importance. Kazakhstan is a strategically important country and an increasingly important partner for Norway.” Read more

Priorities for Kazakhstan's 2010 OSCE Chairmanship include addressing terrorism and other threats, working to resolve protracted conflicts, reconstruction of Afghanistan, co-operation on transport and promoting tolerance, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the new OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakh Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev said in their address to the OSCE... Read more

On January 1st 2010 Kazakhstan took over the Chairmanship of the OSCE and reaffirmed its commitment to uphold the fundamental principles and values of the Organization, to proceed according to the interests of all participating States and to strengthen the role of the OSCE as a significant platform for dialogue contributing to security in the wider Eurasian space. Read more

For the first time ever, leading international scientists have drawn up a report on the status of the parts of the world covered by snow and ice. The conclusion is that they are disappearing faster than anticipated. “This is disturbing news. The world’s leaders must reach an agreement that ensures dramatic cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases,” commented Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr S... Read more

“Demanding, stimulating and challenging” were Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s description of the three-hour review of the human rights situation in Norway in Geneva Wednesday 2 December. This was the first time Norway was examined under the UN’s new system of Universal Periodic Reviews of member states’ national efforts to respect and ensure human rights. Read more

The OSCE maintains special relations with six Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. A number of meetings, conferences and special events provide a broad framework for regular contact between OSCE and the partners. Read more

The 17th OSCE Ministerial Council took place in Athens on 1 and 2 December 2009. The event was held at the invitation of the 2009 Chairman-in-Office, Greek Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou.The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating States an op... Read more

During a ceremony in Oslo on 10 December, President Barack Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. Read more

The President of the Norwegian Storting (Norwegian parliament) and the Norwegian Nobel Committee was on September 29th elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe by the organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly. Read more

WARSAW, 22 September 2009 - Representatives of governments and civil society from the 56 OSCE participating States will gather in Warsaw for a two-week meeting that will review the progress made in implementing the commitments adopted by governments in the field of human rights and democracy. Read more

MFA - Press release 64/09: Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is pleased that vote-counting is now under way after the presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan. “The elections were held under very difficult circumstances,” said Mr Støre. Read more

THE HAGUE, 03 September 2009 - The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), Knut Vollebaek, released the following statement today: Read more

The European Wergeland Centre, located in Oslo, Norway, held its inauguration ceremony in Oslo 29 May 2009. The Centre was established by Norway in cooperation with the Council of Europe in 2008, and aims to promote education for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship Read more

12 May Norway was elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council together with the US. Read more

“Climate change and increased access to Arctic waters call for closer Arctic cooperation. I am pleased that the Arctic Council today has identified a number of measures to combat climate change and protect the Arctic environment,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Al Gore, ministers from Europe, the Americas and Asia, and some of the world’s leading experts on snow and ice melting met in Tromsø, Norway, today. Mr Gore and Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who co-chaired the conference, decided to establish a task force which will report on these issues to the climate conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. Read more

In an article published 21 April in the Norwegian daily paper VG, Foreign Minister Støre reflects on the participation at the Durban Review Conference against racism that took place in Geneva 20-24 April 2009. Read more

In his statement at the NATO Summit in Strasbourg April 4, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced that Norway will increase its support to Afghanistan by a total of USD 30 million. The money will be used to train the Afghan army and police with a view to enhancing security and stability in Afghanistan Read more

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre moderated the "Beyond 2010" plenary session of the 2009 Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conference in Washington, D.C, 7 April 2009. "It is becoming clear that abolitionists can be realists – and that realists can be abolitionists", remarked Foreign Minister Støre. Read more

"There are signs in many countries of growing awareness, among politicians and the general public alike, that global security will be enhanced by the elimination of nuclear arms", Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre writes in an article. Furthermore, "United States and Russia must take a lead in nuclear disarmament". Read more