Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide commended Pakistan’s “important and constructive role” during the recent Iran-US conflict, including the leadership and contributions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, during delegation-level talks in Islamabad on Thursday, the Foreign Office said.
Eide and Dar led the talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the two sides reviewed the “whole gamut of bilateral cooperation” and discussed trade, investment, climate change, maritime affairs and education, according to the FO.
The two sides also held “in-depth discussions on regional and international developments of mutual interest”. This is the first visit by a Norwegian foreign minister to the country in a decade.
During the talks, Pakistan and Norway “expressed satisfaction at the warm and cordial state of Pakistan-Norway relations” and agreed to “further deepen cooperation in areas of mutual interest”.
The two sides also recognised the “important role of the Pakistani diaspora in Norway” and agreed to strengthen people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Earlier, the two counterparts held a restricted-format meeting, discussing the “full range of bilateral relations” and regional and international developments, and both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
According to the FO, Dar “warmly welcomed” Eide to Pakistan during the meeting, as the Norwegian foreign minister arrived in Islamabad for the first visit by a Norwegian foreign minister to the country in a decade.
The two sides also “reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest”.
Eide arrived in Islamabad earlier on Thursday for an official visit and was received at the airport by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Ayesha Ali. His visit marked the highest-level visit between Pakistan and Norway in a decade.
The talks between Dar and Eide were part of a two-day visit aimed at advancing bilateral relations and expanding cooperation between Islamabad and Oslo.
According to a post on X, Eide, who is visiting Pakistan at Dar’s invitation, was received at the airport by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Ayesha Ali.
He later arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), where Dar received him for talks that the Foreign Office described as the “highest-level visit between Pakistan and Norway in a decade”.
The two foreign ministers held delegation-level talks covering the “full spectrum of Pakistan-Norway relations”, according to the FO.
The sides discussed “avenues for further expanding bilateral cooperation”, with particular emphasis on trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, education and people-to-people contacts.
The FO said the two sides also exchanged views on “important regional and international developments” during the talks.
According to an earlier statement issued on Wednesday, the FO said Eide was visiting Pakistan at the invitation of Dar and described the trip as the first visit by a Norwegian foreign minister in a decade.
The ministry said the visit would provide an opportunity to “further strengthen the longstanding and cordial relations between Pakistan and Norway” and “explore new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation”.
According to the statement, Dar and Eide were expected to hold delegation-level talks covering the “full spectrum of Pakistan-Norway relations”.
The two sides were also expected to discuss “avenues for further expanding bilateral cooperation”, particularly in trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, education and people-to-people contacts.
The FO said they would also “exchange views on important regional and international developments”.
The ministry said the visit built on “sustained high-level engagement between the two countries”, including telephone conversations between Dar and Eide in March and April 2026.
It also referred to the visit of Norway’s State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik to Islamabad in May, saying the latest engagement would build on those contacts.
The FO said the visit would offer an opportunity to further strengthen bilateral relations while exploring “new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation” between Pakistan and Norway.