Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Thursday appreciated the “professional role” played by Pakistan in promoting regional peace and stability during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi, the military’s media wing said.
The meeting came during Eide’s two-day official visit to Pakistan, which marked the first visit by a Norwegian foreign minister to the country in a decade.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a high-level Norwegian delegation led by Eide called on Field Marshal Munir, with the two sides discussing “matters of mutual interest, regional security and bilateral relations between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Norway”.
Eide appreciated the “professional role played by the Pakistan Armed Forces in promoting regional peace and stability”.
CDF Munir highlighted Pakistan’s “perspective on global peace and regional stability”, underscoring the importance of “cooperation and collaborative efforts” to address common security challenges, ISPR said.
The two sides also discussed regional security and bilateral relations, with both sides “reiterating their resolve to further strengthen bilateral ties” and “expand engagements in defence and security domains”.
FM Dar, Norwegian counterpart hold press briefing
Earlier, 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 CDF Munir, during delegation-level talks in Islamabad, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
Eide and Dar led the talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), 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.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with Dar in Islamabad after their talks, Eide said Pakistan had taken on a “massive task” by offering Islamabad not only as the venue but also as the facilitator of negotiations.
“I know how hard it is,” Eide said, referring to peace mediation and facilitation. “I know what a massive task you’re taking on when you offered Islamabad, not only as the venue, but also as the facilitator of these talks.”
“What you personally, but also your prime minister, the field marshal, that you have been doing is really a service to the world, and hence also to us,” he said.
Eide said he wanted to “reiterate again strong support for the very important role that Pakistan has taken” since the conflict began on February 28.
“Norway was one of the Western countries that were clearest and earliest in stating that this war in itself is a violation of international rules,” he said.
Eide said Norway, as a “large shipping nation”, shared Pakistan’s interest in keeping sea lanes open and protecting freedom of navigation.
“We share an interest in open sea lanes, in the ability to trade in the high seas,” Eide said, stressing the importance of respecting the “very important constitution of the oceans”, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. “Whatever emerges from this tragic and unnecessary war in the Gulf, we need to protect the principle of free passage,” he said. “I’m so happy that we see completely eye-to-eye on what has to be this,” Eide added. He said that this is a global issue that the two countries have a shared interest in promoting.
“Even if we have significant disagreements with Iran on other issues, they also have the right to be protected and sustained, as we all have,” Eide said. He further added that Norway’s relations with both Iran and the United States gave it “an entry point to Iran”, while it remained “a close ally of the US”. “And knowing this field of peace mediation, facilitation, I know how hard it is,” Eide said.
Eide said he was “really happy and honoured” to be in Pakistan, noting that it had been 10 years since the last Norwegian foreign minister visited the country. He said he had promised Dar many months ago that he would come, “and today I live up to my promise.” Describing the visit as “short but very effective”, Eide said it was a “strong partnership” between Pakistan and Norway and between the two countries’ people.
He highlighted Norway’s “sizable diaspora of Pakistani descent”, saying Norwegian-Pakistani citizens held key positions in politics and society and were “a very welcome contribution to our country”. The diaspora, he said, also provided “an argument for strengthening our economic ties”.
Eide said Norway wanted to strengthen trade relations with Pakistan “in more structural ways”, including through the EFTA-Pakistan partnership. “That would provide for more economic relations for mutual benefit,” he said. Dar, speaking before Eide, said Pakistan and Norway had agreed to “enhance relations and cooperation in all other areas of mutual interest”, including trade, education, defence, investment, climate change, information technology and maritime affairs.
“Pakistan greatly values relations with Norway,” Dar said, adding that Islamabad wanted to strengthen the relationship “in the days, weeks and months to come”. He said both sides had agreed that bilateral trade remained below the potential of their respective economies and “needs to be enhanced through effective measures”.
“Pakistan offers enormous investment opportunities to Norwegian companies,” Dar said, pointing to Norwegian company Yara International’s joint venture with Fauji Fertilizer in Pakistan. “I hope this initiative will be a trailblazer for many more future projects between our two great countries,” he said.
On technology cooperation, Dar said that Pakistan IT exports to Norway have grown more than fivefold in the last two years. The two sides had also agreed on the “expeditious finalisation” of agreements and memorandums of understanding being processed by their respective ministries, Dar said.
On climate change, he said Pakistan and Norway shared “a convergence of perspectives”, noting that the two countries had signed an MoU under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on April 1 this year. Dar also highlighted maritime cooperation, saying Pakistan’s strategic location made it “the most competitive and nearest recycling destination in this maritime region for ships coming from Norway”.