Dear Norwegian and Swiss friends,
I have the pleasure to inform you that this week I presented my credentials to President and Foreign Minister of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis. This means that I am now officially Norway’s ambassador to Switzerland.
I feel very privileged and honored to take on the great task of further developing and improving Switzerland’s and Norway’s already excellent bilateral relations. I look forward to serving those of you who need the Norwegian embassy in Berne’s consular services, and also promoting Norwegian business, technology and culture. As two countries outside the EU but together in EFTA, Norway and Switzerland have many joint interests and areas of cooperation.
During my many years as a Norwegian diplomat I have cooperated very closely with a number of Swiss diplomats, not the least during my multilateral postings at the UN in New York, but also more recently as Norway’s ambassador to Thailand. Both countries have proven our dedication to multilateralism, peace diplomacy, humanitarian and human rights issues. Norway is confident that Switzerland in these challenging times will make important contributions to the global community when she replaces Norway in a couple of months on the UN Security Council.
On a personal level I look forwards to visiting most parts of this beautiful country and exploring the great outdoors. I enjoy skiing and being active, but also staying indoors to watch the many superb Norwegian and Swiss athletes we are blessed with these days.
I hope to meet many of you in the years to come. Thank you for your attention.
