Barack Obama will speak in front of 3,000 business leaders and others outside of Oslo next week, but what he will do in the country is not known.
The Nobel Prize winner has no plans to meet the Nobel Committee,nor has he announced any visit to the Nobel Peace Institute or the Nobel Peace Center. The chairman of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee,Anniken Huitfeldt, has no agreement to meet with the former US president, and, according to the NTB news, there are no plans for representatives of the Foreign Ministry to see the 57 year Old ex US president. Both the Foreign Minister, the Minister for Development, and the Prime Minister are in New York when the guest arrives on Wednesday.
The former president will spend a day in Norway. He is the biggest draw when the Oslo Business Forum is held at Hellerudsletta outside of Oslo on Wednesday afternoon.
Complements the program
The forum’s total of 3,000 participants will hear Obama’s conversation with former Nor-Shipping boss Birgit Liodden on the topics of management,technology, and sustainability.
“It’s gratifying that Obama wants to travel to Norway to talk to Norwegian business leaders and decision makers at the Oslo Business Forum this autumn” said Christoffer Omberg, CEO, who is also one of the founders of the Oslo Business Forum.
‘’President Barack Obama complements the program brilliantly considering that he led the United States for a period of time the world had undergone a digital transformation. Several companies have grown enormously and we have seen how the shared economy has taken the world by storm,’’ he says.
VIP tickets with group photo
The most eager participants have bought tickets for over 32,000 kroner.Then they get a group picture with the US 44th president. The standard tickets cost between 5,000 and 9,000 kroner, and all tickets are for the most part sold out.
If you wonder why you have not seen any offer to buy a ticket, the organiser announced that they operate on the “B2B market”, that is, buying and selling between businesses and not directly to consumers.
The Oslo Business Forum will not say how much Obama will get paid for his talk, although the amount for such appearances are normally significant.
‘’This is a contract between Oslo Business Forum and Barack Obama.What we have agreed on regarding this lecture remains between us. We follow this practice as far as all our speakers are concerned’’ said press contact, Daniel Gauslaa.
The police both at Skedsmo and Oslo will work with security around the visit, as Obama will stay in the capital. Also the American Secret Service will be involved.
This service is responsible for the safety of both seated and former US presidents.
“There will be some security measures, but not near so many as when he was here as president,” said Martin Strand, chief executive officer at Oslo Police District.
Obama visited Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2009. According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, during the peace prize winner’s presidency there were ten times as many drone strikes against Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen as there were under George W. Bush, causing up to 800 civilian deaths.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
