Norway said Friday it has hosted a three-day round of "informal" peace talks between the Philippine government and the opposition National Democratic Front (NDF), according to dpa. The talks ended Thursday. Norway last hosted similar talks in August 2005. "It is positive that the parties have conducted confidential talks. Norway attaches importance to creating meeting places for talks between parties to a conflict," Norwegian State Secretary Raymond Johansen said in a statement. After exchanging views on the peace process, the delegates agreed to meet later this year, the foreign ministry in Oslo said. The NDF is the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s. The conflict is regarded as one of the longest ongoing leftist insurgencies in Asia.
