Press Releases from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The committee appointed to review the consequences of the EEA Agreement and Norway’s other agreements with the EU presented its report today. Read more

The Government has decided that it will no longer urge Norwegian companies to refrain from trade and investment in Myanmar. This was an exclusively Norwegian policy. The decision has been made in response to the progress being made in Myanmar. Norway continues to align itself with the EU sanction regime, which will be considered more closely in the course of the spring. Read more

Today, Norway and 40 other countries concluded negotiations on the revision of the WTO agreement on government procurement. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre commented, “The result is a user-friendly, flexible agreement both for Norwegian suppliers and for government clients.” Read more

Through the EEA and Norway Grants, Norway is helping to facilitate dialogue between the two communities on the divided island of Cyprus. A large proportion of the funds provided in the period up to 2014 are earmarked for civil society support. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Nicosia this afternoon. Read more

More than 150 countries and a wide range of organisations have reached agreement on a common framework for development cooperation at the high-level forum in South Korea. For the first time, China, India and Brazil are also on board. Read more

“The parliamentary elections in Morocco are an important step in the country’s democratisation process. I am pleased that the elections were conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

Norway condemns the attack on the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday in the strongest terms. Violent protesters broke into the embassy compound causing damage to the buildings. Diplomatic personnel were present during the attack. Read more

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre commented, “Norway welcomes the important work being done by the Arab League to end the violence in Syria. Sunday’s historic decision to introduce sanctions shows that the region has lost confidence in the Assad regime. Read more

Norway condemns the sentencing of the prominent Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski. “There are strong indications that the judgment is politically motivated,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre commente Read more

Norway’s initiative has resulted in the unanimous adoption of a resolution in the UN General Assembly on strengthening the protection of human rights defenders and the right of peaceful protest. “This UN resolution throws into sharp relief the use of force against protesters that we are seeing in a number of countries. It strengthens our hand when we seek to make governments accountable for... Read more

“Norway has, together with key Arab and European countries, taken the initiative to bring the grave situation in Syria before the UN General Assembly,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

“In the white paper on the High North, the Government sets out ambitious goals for Norway’s efforts in the High North over the next 20–30 years. The main focus of the white paper is on foreign policy, but emphasis is also placed on how the High North policy is to promote employment and value creation across the country as a whole,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

“Norway deplores the way the Egyptian security forces have handled the popular protests in recent days and deeply regrets that a large number of protesters have been killed and wounded,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

Spain and Norway are to cooperate on research and development in the field of renewable energy, through the EEA and Norway Grants, with a particular focus on hydropower, solar power, wind power and wave power. Read more

Norway condemns the bombing of the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan by the Sudanese military, and urges the parties to come to the negotiating table to find a solution to the conflict in Southern Kordofan State and Blue Nile State. Read more

“We want to learn from the experience we have gained from the peace process in Sri Lanka,” said Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. He was at the launch of the first evaluation of Norway’s peace efforts. Read more

“Russian membership of the WTO will be a historic step,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Read more

For the first time, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is presenting an overview of aid funds that have been misused and other financial irregularities. Read more

The five Nordic foreign ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East today, focusing particularly on relations between Israel and the Palestinians in the wake of this week’s vote in UNESCO. Although the Nordic countries’ positions differed as regards the timing of Palestinian membership of UNESCO, they agree that the way forward must be based on a resumption of negotiations and the visi... Read more

Today the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched this year’s Human Development Report. The report includes the 2011 Human Development Index, which measures countries’ ability to provide opportunities for people to improve their living conditions. Norway is at the top of this index. Read more