The 12th Sino-Norwegian Roundtable on the Rule of Law and Human Rights was held in Oslo from December 16 to December 17, 2009.

In his opening speech, Mr. Shen Yongxiang, head of the Chinese delegation and special envoy of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on human rights said that both the Chinese and Norwegian Governments attached importance to human rights issues. Through the exchanges on the legal level, the field visits and follow-up technical cooperations, the two sides not only enhanced their mutual understanding and expanded the consensus, but also learned from each other and promoted the human rights development for both countries. Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, head of the Norwegian Delegation and Director General of the UN Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a positive comment on China's progress in the human rights field and expressed Norway's focus on cooperation and exchanges in this filed with China. Both sides made presentations on their respective new achievements in promoting and protecting human rights and group discussions were also held.

Ms. Gry Larsen, State Secretary of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, met with the delegation led by Mr. Shen Yongxiang. Ambassador Tang Guoqiang attended the relevant activities.