Evo Morales blasts West during Lapland visit
OSLO (AFP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales on Friday criticised Western economies for exploiting "Mother Earth", during a visit to the indigenous Sami parliament in Norwegian Lapland.
Samis are native to the north of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia.
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"Our way of life respects nature," the Bolivian president was quoted by the NTB news agency as saying.
"That's why we have problems with the Western model which turns Mother Earth into merchandise," he added.
Morales, who in 2005 became the world's first indigenous head of state, on Friday became the first foreign president to visit the parliament in Karasjok representing Norway's Samis.
Samis are also native to the north of Sweden, Finland and Russia.
Karasjok was the second and last leg of Morales' visit to Norway to discuss climate change, energy matters and indigenous issues.
In Oslo on Thursday, Morales said he wanted to learn from the management of oil and gas resources in Norway, the world's fifth largest oil exporter.
Under Morales' leadership, Bolivia, which boasts South America's second largest gas reserves after Venezuela, has begun nationalising oil and gas and other resources.
Last Updated (Friday, 21 May 2010 12:53)
