Norwegian Crown Prince Visits NATO

(NATO) His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Haakon of Norway visited NATO Headquarters on 1 March. He had a meeting with the Secretary General and then addressed the North Atlantic Council, which was meeting with the representatives of non-member countries contributing troops to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan.

Though it was his first visit to NATO, the Crown Prince stressed that the Alliance had been a part of his life as long as he could remember. He said his grandfather and father had impressed upon him at an early age the essential role of NATO for his country’s security. As a child, when there was a real threat of confrontation in Europe, he had seen how NATO played an instrumental part in keeping the peace. When he served in the Norwegian navy, he experienced Allied solidarity firsthand and witnessed the practical value of NATO. More recently, he had followed closely how the Alliance has enlarged and taken on different roles.

Pointing to the fact that NATO had defended freedom and democracy during the Cold War, based on the common values enshrined in the North Atlantic Treaty, he emphasised that these same values underpinned the new roles NATO was playing in meeting today’s security challenges.

“Norway will do its best to stay at the forefront of efforts to achieve a more secure, a more just and more inclusive world,” he said. “The North Atlantic Alliance has a pivotal role to play in this regard. I am confident that our shared values, solidarity and determination will secure and promote freedom and security in the future as well.”