Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store emphasized the need to "work together in international cooperation, secure living conditions" to tackle the pressing issues facing the international community.
In an interview with China Media Group on Tuesday on a high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, Store, who was paying an official visit to China from Monday to Wednesday, shared his insights on easing geopolitical tensions and addressing political risks and challenges facing the world today.
"Norway does not have the size, the nature, or temperament to force anything on anybody. So we have to play our role as a responsible state, UN member, having active diplomatic relations with other countries. We try to promote solutions that can bring peace and stability. A small open country like mine will always suffer when there is insecurity, war and instability. And that's why precisely now I'm very concerned about the situation with the war in Ukraine. It has an absolute meaningless number of casualties, of people being killed. Every day there is an attack on infrastructure, hospitals, private buildings. It has to stop. And I hear from China that China is in favor of stability, being against threat of nuclear weapons, and all these issues are threatened by this kind of war because it is escalation," said Store.
Store stressed the importance of joint efforts from the international community to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
"What can Norway do? Well, we can tell our Chinese friends that we as neighbors of Russia, urge other countries to make what they can, do what they can to help this war end. And then, securing peace, it's a long term issue. You have to work on it day by day, and I believe that peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace is about human development and human opportunity that our children can educate, work and live. So we have to work together in international cooperation, secure living conditions -- that's the climate change agenda, fight poverty, provide renewable electricity to a growing population, but also stimulate education and research which is forward looking," said Store.
Norwegian PM on international cooperation in securing living conditions
An official with the World Economic Forum (WEF) has stressed the importance of establishing an adaptable mechanism for dialogue and cooperation that allows the global economy to fully benefit from the development potential of new technologies while managing the associated risks.
Mirek Dusek, one of WEF's managing directors, was speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting, which commenced in Davos, Switzerland on Monday.
The five-day event has gathered around 3,000 participants from various regions and industries around the world under the theme "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," highlighting the need for greater collaboration against a backdrop of rapid technological advancements and global divisions.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Tuesday, Dusek said WEF is monitoring "two big forces" they believe are changing the world economy.
"On one hand, we are living through quite a unique time in terms of technological advancement and innovation. But on the other hand, of course, we are also tracking forces of fragmentation. We are seeing a more competitive geopolitical landscape, shifting value chains and supply chains, and of course, also social polarization in certain societies around the world," he said.
With the current uncertainties in the world, Dusek stressed the importance of building a suitable platform for dialogue, and ensuring that such a mechanisms is adaptable to respond to the various challenges.
"Given the trends that we are seeing in the global economy, in international relations, that function of bridging and dialogue could not be more important. It's very important that we have mechanisms where we can have dialogue and cooperation, and of course, we also need to be on the front foot of thinking, 'Okay, how do we make sure that the collaborative mechanisms are fit for the 21st century?'" he said, adding that this will be one of the focuses of the current Davos meeting.
Dusek also emphasized China's vital role in promoting global economic growth and technological development, describing the country as a "key actor" in helping the world transition to a new era of tech-driven development.
"Everyone understands that we need to be on our front foot, really thinking creatively around how do we relaunch growth that is inclusive, sustainable. But how do we relaunch growth in this new situation for the world economy? And China plays a very important role in that endeavor, on development, on trade, of course, as well. On technology, I mentioned the theme, 'The Intelligent Age'. What we are trying to communicate with that is that there is a huge opportunity around some of these technologies. What is quite special is that it's not only one technology, but we are seeing, at this moment, whole sets of technologies that are going to market and exponentially changing industry and economy. If we have this huge opportunity around these technologies, how do we design [not only] our dialogue mechanisms, but also our collaborative mechanisms to be able to harness these technologies for the benefit of the world economy while taking care of the risks," he said.
WEF official calls for mechanisms to foster dialogue in new tech era, boost world economy