Søreide attends the Christmas ceremony in London

Norway's Foreign Secretary Ine Eriksen, second left, listens as Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks during the unveiling of a Christmas tree gifted by Norway, outside The Foreign and Commonwealth Office FCO in London, Monday Dec. 4, 2017. Johnson met Norway's Foreign Secretary Ine Eriksen Soreide for bilateral talks before a ceremony to handover the tree. (Adrian Dennis/Pool via AP)

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) received the honor of presenting the Christmas tree that Norway has given as a gift to the British Foreign Ministry on Monday.

 

A smiling Søreide cut the red ribbon in front of the Christmas tree outside the Foreign Ministry in London. She attended the ceremony with her British colleague, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.

Pupils from the Norwegian school in London sang Norwegian Christmas carols, and Søreide and Johnson were served gløgg and gingerbread by the staff from the Norwegian embassy.

Before the Christmas ceremony and celebrations, Søreide was also there for a meeting with Johnson about Brexit and to discuss the rules that will apply to Norwegians working and residing in the UK.

In addition to the meeting with Johnson, Søreide also got to meet both the Minister of Europe and America Alan Duncan, and Development Minister Penny Mordaunt.

On the agenda, in addition to Brexit, other current foreign policy issues including Syria, North Korea and Myanmar.

Søreide would later speak about Nordic foreign perspectives for one of Britain’s largest think tanks, Chatham House, on Monday.

 

NTB Scanpix / Norway Today