RAWALPINDI – Norway steps up engagement with Islamabad amid regional tensions. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide held key talks with Field Marshal Asim Munir and Ishaq Dar, putting Iran diplomacy, Strait of Hormuz security, defence cooperation, trade and skilled migration at the heart of a renewed Pakistan-Norway partnership.
A decade after last Norwegian foreign minister visited Pakistan, Oslo returned to Islamabad with agenda stretching from the Iran crisis and the Strait of Hormuz to defence cooperation, skilled migration and a potential trade breakthrough.
At GHQ, Eide met Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, for discussions centred on the rapidly shifting security environment and prospects for stronger defence and security cooperation. Field Marshal Asim Munir conveyed Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global peace, stressing the need for greater international coordination as security threats become increasingly complex.
Eide, meanwhile, acknowledged the role of Pakistan’s armed forces in promoting peace and stability in the region. But diplomatic message from Norway became even more during Eide’s meeting with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Oslo openly backed Islamabad’s diplomatic role in the US-Iran crisis, with Eide praising Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Tehran and help ease tensions between the two sides.
Pakistan and Norway also explored ways to expand their economic relationship. Bilateral trade stood at $198 million in FY2022-23, while Ishaq Dar highlighted a proposed joint venture involving Norwegian company Yara International in Pakistan’s plant-nutrition sector.
The discussions indicate that Islamabad wants its relationship with Oslo to move beyond diplomatic contacts and into investment, industrial cooperation and broader economic engagement.
