"We have been for so long, a uniform Protestant country, but Norway has also been changing, become what I would call a more pluricultural society, many people have come to Norway, many of them are also Catholics, so that the Catholic contingent in Norway has grown, and they bring many new thoughts, interesting thinking, and it leads to, let us say, informed debate in the country, which is good for all of us."

"The (planned) visit (of Taliban to Oslo, Norway in January 2022 on human rights and humanitarian aid) was not a legitimation or recognition of the Taliban (government in Afghanistan). But we must talk to those who in practice govern the country today."

"I was myself recently also in Afghanistan, and I sat down with the mothers in these displacement camps around Kabul. And I asked them, “What about the future? What do you think of the future?” And they told me very clearly, “We believe we will starve and freeze to death this harsh winter, unless there is an enormous aid operation coming through and unless there is a public sector again that is able to provide services.” It is as acute as that. Forty million civilians were left behind when the NATO countries went for the door in August."

"Rafah has now become the largest refugee camp on earth. One million people fled here because it was supposed to be safe. They’ve joined the population which is there already. It’s the most crowded, it’s the largest refugee camp on earth, and you cannot have a war in a refugee camp."

"The pulverising of Gaza now ranks amongst the worst assaults on any civilian population in our time and age. Each day we see more dead children and new depths of suffering for the innocent people enduring this hell. (...) Countries supporting Israel with arms must understand that these civilian deaths will be a permanent stain on their reputation. (...) The situation in Gaza is a total failure of our shared humanity. The killing must stop."

"Money should not go to the military political group called the Taliban that took power by force. The money should go to the people, and it is possible. So, number one, there has to be trust funds, as we call it, that is held by U.N. agencies, that funnel money directly to the hospitals, that you just showed, where people are dying at the moment. It can go straight to the teachers that were on the payroll of the World Bank previously, can go straight to them. So, the money can go through us, international organizations, straight to the people. Secondly, unfreeze those funds that will enable banks to function again. At the moment, we cannot even buy relief items in Afghanistan. We have to ship them over, take them over from Pakistan and Iran, which means that employment is dying in Afghanistan. And thirdly, donors, come down from the fence. See that we are there. We are reliable channels for funding. The money will go to the people. Transmit funding, not just come with pledges. This will not become Switzerland in a long time. You have to share the risk with us to save lives this winter."

"It is better to go skiing and think of God, than to go to church and think of sport."

"The history of the human race is a continual struggle from darkness towards light. It is, therefore, to no purpose to discuss the use of knowledge; man wants to know, and when he ceases to do so, he is no longer man."

"The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer."

"Let me tell you the secret of such so-called successes as there have been in my life, and here I believe I give you really good advice. It was to burn my boats and demolish my bridges behind me. Then one loses no time in looking behind, when one should have quite enough to do in looking ahead..."

"We do not regard Englishmen as foreigners. We look on them only as rather mad Norwegians."

"The Soviet leaders have always disliked and feared the North Atlantic Alliance, and all that it stands for. They did their utmost to prevent it being born. You will remember that just as your distinguished Foreign Minister Mr. Lange was about to leave Oslo for Washington to enquire about the North Atlantic Treaty, a Note was received from the Soviet Government inviting Norway to conclude a non-aggression pact with them. Norway made her choice. She declined the Russian offer; and on the 3rd March, 1949 decided to join the Atlantic Alliance, while making it clear that she would not allow armed forces of foreign powers to be stationed in Norway so long as the country had not been attacked or threatened with attack. Thus the Soviet failed to prevent the Treaty being signed, but this did not deter them from trying to prevent the Alliance being extended or strengthened. When there was a question of Greece and Turkey joining the Alliance, the Soviet did their utmost by a mixture of blandishment and threats to prevent their doing so. Two years ago they took exactly the same line when the question of the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany was under consideration."

"We have an opportunity to launch a massive effort against infectious diseases."

"Nurses, as the key health professionals, are in a unique position to act as powerful advocates for a healthy planet. [...] As nurses and midwives already constitute up to 80% of the qualified health workforce in most national health systems, they represent a potentially powerful force for bringing about the necessary changes to meet the needs of Health for All in the 21st century. Indeed, their contribution to health services covers the whole spectrum of health care [...] It is clear that nurses are the backbone of most health care teams."

"The global toll of mental illness and neurological disorders is staggering."

"Tobacco is a communicated disease – communicated through marketing."

"Det er typisk norsk å være god."

"20th Century has been called] the century of extremes, [...] in which human vices reached unfathomable depths. [She notes that it has been] a century of great progress [and in some places of] unprecedented economic growth. [At the same time, however, poor urban areas face a bleak future of] overcrowding and a disease pattern linked to poverty and an unhealthy environment."