Photos by Mary Lyn Fonua

Story by Linny Folau

HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway said Tonga and Norway could tackle common global issues such as climate change through multilateral cooperation.

Speaking briefly to Norwegian and a few local media this afternoon in the Royal Palace grounds, the Crown Prince said in regards to strengthening peace and security in an unstable world, there is a lot that Tonga and Norway can do together.

He said both Tonga and Norway are big supporters of the United Nations system, which is one place we can discuss the issues of common concern. 

“Another thing is working for a healthy ocean and combatting climate change because our weather is out of balance and unfortunately our oceans are not as healthy as they should be. We have a lot of common interest in working together there as well, which is also connected with safety and security.”

In regards to the ocean and climate change, the Crown Prince said these are some of the major issues of our time and it's obvious we need to tackle them in a better way than we have. 

“In Norway where I am from it is cold but our glaciers are melting, the ice is melting up north and the connection to here where the sea is rising is apparent. So the work is interconnected that way,” he said.

Ocean connects us

“Even though we are far apart the ocean connects us and we have the opportunity to stand together on many of these important issues and frankly, the only way to tackle these global issues is the multilateral systems because it is not possible for one nation to do it by themselves.”

The Crown Prince arrived in Tonga this afternoon on a two day visit. He will attend a royal reception tonight at Consular House in Nuku'alofa

Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (45) is the only son and younger child of King Harald V and Queen Sonja and heir apparent to the throne of Norway. He was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Oslo.