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State visit to Norway for the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, who arrived in Oslo yesterday accompanied by his daughter Laura and, for the government, by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. An “ally and above all a friendly” country, underlined the head of state, with which there is “full convergence on the international agenda”. But in which there is no shortage of contradictions: Norway is a determined and active member of NATO but is still far from wanting to join the European Union, it also pushes hard on renewables but finances them with oil, of which it has discovered that it is so rich as to be the first exporter in the Union. However Rome and Oslo are linked by a common vision on how the crisis in Ukraine should be tackled, that is with the utmost resoluteness.
Mattarella: “We hope that elements of rationality will return to Moscow”
We need to “counter Russia’s aggressive policy”, but this “must not distract us from the search for a haven of peace”, Mattarella underlined in his conversation with Norwegian premier Jonas Gahr Store. “Russia’s decision (to attack, ed) is irrational: we hope that elements of rationality will return to Moscow”, he added. Even the Norwegian premier explained that the time has come to start thinking about a drop point because, it is the belief of Norway which shares 200 kilometers border with Russia, there will be no military solution.The prime minister then reminded Mattarella how much Norway is committed to providing military aid to Ukraine for the next 5 years.
At the center of energy and green
One of the themes at the heart of the mission is energy, with opportunities for cooperation in the energy transition with a particular focus on hydrogen, wind energy and carbon capture and storage. Norway is a very interesting country for geopolitics, also due to its geographical proximity to Russia. But above all it is attractive for being a large oil extractor and, at the same time, a leading country in the production of green energy. In fact, Norway has a 95% renewable electricity grid powered mainly by hydroelectricity. The country has invested heavily in recent years in building a solid domestic supply of renewable sources, including onshore and offshore wind energy.
The program of the visit
Mattarella will not see King Harald, to whom he sent his “most fervent wishes” for recovery. The sovereign was in fact hospitalized a few days ago for tests. The President of the Republic was welcomed today at the Presidential Palace in Oslo where he met the Crown Prince, Haakon, Queen Sonja, Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Astrid. After the anthems and military honors, the president had a restricted meeting with the crown prince. Later the head of state moved together with the royals to the Akershus Fortress for the deposition ceremony at the national monument. Then Mattarella met the president of the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament, Masud Gharahkhani and attended a working lunch with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Tomorrow Crown Prince Haakon will accompany Mattarella to Trondheim, a town north of Oslo. At the Trondheim Polytechnic Mattarella will visit the energy laboratory and participate in a conference on energy. After lunch in the Archdiocese there will be a concert in the cathedral of Nidaros and in the evening Mattarella will leave for Rome.
Source-tg24.sky.it