Armaments, defense, books: Crown Prince Haakon in Munich
The second day of Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon's trip to Germany is dominated by the effects of global trouble spots, but also by literature.
Accompanied by Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, the 50-year-old will attend a conference on defense and armaments in Munich today before visiting the arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. In the afternoon, he will devote himself to a passion of his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, at the German-Norwegian Literature Day.
At the Defense and Armaments Conference, Haakon will meet, among others, the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense, Thomas Hitschler (SPD). Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), Chairwoman of the Bundestag's Defense Committee, is also expected to attend. The talks with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann are likely to focus on 54 Leopard 2 tanks, which Norway has ordered and which are to be delivered from 2025 and equipped with Norwegian technology.
A matter close to the crown princess's heart
The afternoon, on the other hand, will be dedicated to Norwegian literature, an affair of the heart for Crown Princess Mette-Marit. However, she will only join the tour group from the far north in Berlin. Norwegian writer Maja Lunde and author Dag Olav Hessen will take part in a literary conversation in Haakon's presence at the Munich Literaturhaus, which will later lead to a speed dating meeting between Norwegian literary agents and German publishers.
At this point, however, Haakon is already on his way by plane to Hamburg, where there will be a reception with 300 guests in the evening. In the Hanseatic city, a business conference at the Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday will focus on energy, infrastructure and shipping. The day will be crowned by the traditional harbor tour before Haakon travels on to Berlin by train.
There he will meet Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Together, the couple will also attend a commemoration ceremony on Thursday to mark 9 November, the day the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. At the end of Haakon's four-day trip to Germany, visits to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Chancellery are planned.
- During the German-Norwegian Literature Day, Crown Prince Haakon will support his wife's passion for literature, despite not joining the tour group from the far north until Berlin.
- At the literary conversation in Munich Literaturhaus, Norwegian writers Maja Lunde and Dag Olav Hessen will engage in a discussion, with Haakon present as a spectator.
- In the final leg of their joint trip to Germany, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will pay visits to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, both key figures in German politics.
Source: www.dpa.com
