The Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond today began their three-day state visit to Norway. They were received by the King and Queen and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess at a welcoming ceremony in the Palace Square, followed by a wreath-laying ceremonies at the National Monument and Canadian war graves at the Western Cemetery as well as visits to the Parliament and the Prime Minister. Later tonight there will be a state banquet at the Royal Palace.After two days in Oslo the Canadian guests will spend the final day visiting Tromsø. It is the second Canadian state visit to Norway ever and comes seven years after King Harald and Queen Sonja visited Canada.
In the autumn the King and Queen are expected to pay a state visit to South Africa’s new President Jacob Zuma, eleven years after they visited President Nelson Mandela.
There have been rumours in Norwegian media that President Nicolas Sarkozy of France will pay a state visit to Norway this year. He accepted an invitation from King Harald when meeting with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Paris in May last year, but normally a longer period of preparation is necessary before a state visit can take place. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is also expected to pay a state visit to Norway in a not too distant future.
The complete schedule for the Canadian state visit can be found at the Governor General's website:
http://www.gg.ca/gg/sv/norway2009_e.asp
Michaëlle Jean also writes about the state visit in her blog:
http://www.citizenvoices.gg.ca/en/blogs/rideau_hall/243
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