{"id":19338,"date":"2026-08-13T21:24:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=19338"},"modified":"2026-08-13T21:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:24:48","slug":"norways-foreign-minister-praises-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/08\/13\/norways-foreign-minister-praises-pa\/","title":{"rendered":"Norway\u2019s Foreign Minister Praises Pakistan\u2019s Role in Regional Peace, in meeting with CDF Munir, Calls for Stronger Bilateral Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Norway\u2019s Foreign Minister Praises Pakistan\u2019s Role in Regional Peace, in meeting with CDF Munir, Calls for Stronger Bilateral Ties<\/strong><\/h3>\n

RAWALPINDI: Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has praised Pakistan\u2019s professional role in promoting regional peace and stability, while expressing support for Islamabad\u2019s diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation during the recent Iran-US conflict.<\/p>\n

Eide made the remarks during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi, during his two-day official visit to Pakistan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR<\/a>), a high-level Norwegian delegation led by Eide discussed matters of mutual interest, regional security and bilateral relations between Pakistan and Norway with Field Marshal Munir.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian foreign minister appreciated the \u201cprofessional role\u201d played by the Pakistan Armed Forces in promoting regional peace and stability.<\/p>\n

Field Marshal Munir briefed the visiting dignitary on Pakistan\u2019s perspective regarding global peace and regional stability and underscored the importance of cooperation and collaborative efforts to address common security challenges.<\/p>\n

Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to further strengthen bilateral ties and expand engagement in the defence and security sectors.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Eide held delegation-level talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. The discussions covered the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation, including trade, investment, climate change, maritime affairs, education, defence and information technology.<\/p>\n

The two sides also held detailed discussions on regional and international developments of mutual interest and expressed satisfaction over the warm and cordial relations between Pakistan and Norway. They agreed to deepen cooperation in areas of mutual interest and strengthen people-to-people contacts, including through the Pakistani diaspora in Norway.<\/p>\n

Addressing a joint press briefing after the talks, Eide praised Pakistan\u2019s role during the recent Iran-US conflict, describing Islamabad\u2019s decision to offer itself not only as a venue but also as a facilitator for negotiations as a \u201cmassive task.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also praised the efforts of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, saying their work constituted a service to the wider international community.<\/p>\n

Eide reiterated Norway\u2019s strong support for Pakistan\u2019s role since the conflict began on February 28 and said Norway had been among the Western countries that had clearly and early expressed its view that the war violated international rules.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian foreign minister also stressed the importance of keeping maritime routes open and protecting freedom of navigation, saying Norway, as a major shipping nation, shared Pakistan\u2019s interest in maintaining open sea lanes and facilitating international trade.<\/p>\n

He underscored the importance of respecting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and maintaining the principle of free passage in the Gulf, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing crisis.<\/p>\n

Eide said Norway wanted to strengthen trade ties with Pakistan through more structured arrangements, including the EFTA-Pakistan partnership, which he said could create greater opportunities for mutually beneficial economic relations.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the briefing, Dar said Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Norway and wanted to expand cooperation in trade, education, defence, investment, climate change, information technology and maritime affairs.<\/p>\n

He said bilateral trade remained below the potential of the two economies and required effective measures to increase it. Dar also highlighted the investment opportunities available to Norwegian companies in Pakistan, citing Norwegian firm Yara International\u2019s joint venture with Fauji Fertilizer as an example of successful cooperation.<\/p>\n

Dar said Pakistan\u2019s IT exports to Norway had increased more than fivefold over the past two years. The two countries have also agreed to expedite the finalisation of agreements and memorandums of understanding being processed by their respective ministries.<\/p>\n

On climate change, Dar said Pakistan and Norway shared converging views and pointed to the memorandum of understanding signed under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on April 1 this year.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the potential for greater maritime cooperation, saying Pakistan\u2019s strategic location made it a competitive and nearby ship-recycling destination for vessels coming from Norway. He thanked Norwegian maritime authorities for helping Pakistan build capacity and providing technical training for the ship-breaking industry in line with the Hong Kong Convention.<\/p>\n

The two countries also agreed to strengthen people-to-people contacts and continue work on legal pathways for skilled Pakistani workers seeking employment in Norway. Dar stressed the importance of combating human smuggling and illegal migration.<\/p>\n

The Pakistani foreign minister also briefed Eide on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), describing the dispute as one of the long-standing unresolved issues on the UN Security Council agenda.<\/p>\n

Dar also criticised India\u2019s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, saying New Delhi must end the \u201cweaponisation of water\u201d and fulfil its treaty obligations. He further briefed Eide on Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue, de-escalation and a peaceful settlement of the Iran-US conflict.<\/p>\n

Eide said the talks also covered Kashmir, Afghanistan and the situation in the Middle East. He welcomed the opportunity to learn more about Pakistan\u2019s new trilateral defence cooperation with T\u00fcrkiye and Saudi Arabia and noted Norway\u2019s close relations with all three countries.<\/p>\n

He also reaffirmed Norway\u2019s support for efforts aimed at achieving a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue, saying his country remained committed to the establishment of a free, sovereign and independent Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel and its neighbours.<\/p>\n

On climate change, Eide said Norway was closely following the severe impact of floods and other climate-related disasters on Pakistan. He said the two countries agreed that climate change should also be viewed as a foreign policy issue, alongside efforts to combat nature loss, promote global health and reduce poverty.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian foreign minister described his visit as short but effective and said it reflected a strong partnership between Pakistan and Norway. He also highlighted the sizeable Pakistani diaspora in Norway, describing its members as a welcome contribution to Norwegian society and an important bridge for strengthening economic ties.<\/p>\n

The visit marks the first trip to Pakistan by a Norwegian foreign minister in a decade and is aimed at advancing bilateral relations and expanding cooperation across a broad range of political, economic, security and social sectors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Norway\u2019s Foreign Minister Praises Pakistan\u2019s Role in Regional Peace, in meeting with CDF Munir, Calls for Stronger Bilateral Ties RAWALPINDI: Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has praised Pakistan\u2019s professional role in promoting regional peace and stability, while expressing support for Islamabad\u2019s diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation during the recent Iran-US conflict. Eide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2297,2298],"tags":[2412,4004],"class_list":["post-19338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-pakistan","tag-ispr","tag-pakistan-norway"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19340,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19338\/revisions\/19340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}