STOCKHOLM, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg expressed his optimism to meeting the challenge of climate change in his New Year's speech on Tuesday, according to reports reaching here from Oslo.

    "It is the mankind to bring about the climate problem and the problem can also be settled by the mankind," the Norwegian news agency NTB quoted the prime minister as saying.

    Stoltenberg was pleased with the agreement reached in the last minute at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia last month. He said we now have a basis for a global agreement in Copenhagen in 2009.

    Norwegian prime minister also paid an attention to the situation in Afghanistan in his speech. He pointed out that the situation has become better in Afghanistan, for example that many girls can go to school now, while they couldn't before.

    Stoltenberg added that the Norwegian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan have make contributions to the changes there. He sent an extra warm greeting to the Norwegian forces serving on peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan.