ISLAMABAD: Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Thursday praised Pakistan’s mediatory role in the United States-Iran conflict and called for “open sea lanes” for global trade, following his wide-ranging discussions with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad on regional developments and bilateral relations.
Eide arrived in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Thursday on the first visit by a Norwegian foreign minister in a decade and held delegation-level talks with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar that covered the full spectrum of bilateral relations between the countries.
Speaking at a joint presser, Eide called the US war on Iran a “violation of international rules” and said that Pakistan did a “service to the world” by facilitating negotiations between the US and Iran in April that led to an interim peace deal between both sides.
“This matters to us as a citizen of the world. It matters also to us as a large shipping nation, because one, as you mentioned it yourself, we share an interest in open sea lanes, in the ability to trade in the high seas, and to respect the very important, the Constitution of the Oceans, which is the UNCLOS, the UN Convention of the Law of the Seas, and whatever emerges from this tragic and unnecessary war in the Gulf, we need to protect the principle of free passage,” the Norwegian FM said.
“I’m so happy that we see completely eye-to-eye on what has to be this, and I would like this opportunity again to send a message to anyone involved out there in that conflict, that this issue of free passage and an open strait is not an issue for the warring parties alone, it’s a global issue that we have a shared interest in promoting.”
The interim US-Iran peace deal, reached in June, announced an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts,” but quickly unraveled, with US President Donald Trump saying it was “over” on July 7 and Iran’s foreign ministry declaring it “suspended” a week later.
The US-Iran conflict disrupted global oil and gas supplies as well as international trade through the Strait of Hormuz that carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and a quarter of seaborne liquefied natural gas exports before the war began in late Feb. The conflict has also sent global fuel prices soaring.
The June ceasefire agreement set a 60-day period, extendable by mutual consent, within which Iran and the US were expected to reach a final deal limiting Tehran’s nuclear program and lifting US sanctions. Iran and the US remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war.
Speaking at the presser, Dar said he had been in contact with FM Eide and kept updating his Norwegian counterpart on the developments relating to the conflict.
“I also briefed His Excellency, Foreign Minister of Norway, on our diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue, de-escalation, and peaceful settlement of the US-Iran conflict,” he said. “I am grateful to His Excellency for appreciating Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the conflict.”
BILATERAL COOPERATION
The two ministers also discussed bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors at Thursday’s talks.
“Both sides agreed that our bilateral trade is below the potential of both economies and need to be enhanced through effective measures,” Dar said, adding that a renowned Norwegian company, Yara International, is establishing a joint venture in plant nutrition with a fossil fertilizer company in Pakistan.
“I hope this initiative will be a trailblazer for many more future projects between our two great countries.”
Norway follows the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) system and accords Pakistan GSP status, which means that Pakistani goods benefit from a 10-100 percent tariff reduction when imported into Norway, according to the Pakistani embassy in Oslo.
The volume of their bilateral trade stood at $198 million in the fiscal year 2022-2023. Pakistan exports to Norway amounted to $134 million, whereas imports from Norway amounted to $64 million.
“Labor mobility was also a key area that we discussed,” Dar said. “We agreed to continue work on legal pathways for Pakistan’s skilled manpower, stressing the need to combat human smuggling and illegal migration. Both sides agreed that by providing safe, orderly, regular migration channels, we not only protect migrants’ rights and lives, but also dismantle the illegal model of smuggling human rights networks.”
Norway is also a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) along with Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Pakistan and the EFTA states signed a declaration in 2012 to promote economic cooperation. Islamabad is presently working on a feasibility exercise for signing a Free Trade Agreement with EFTA.
“As the Deputy Prime Minister said, we are also discussing that in the context of specifics, but also [share] a desire to strengthen our trade relations in more structural ways, which will be a topic for upcoming discussions, including in the context of the EFTA-Pakistan partnership, which could be developed further, and that would provide for more economic relations for mutual benefit,” FM Eide said.
He also met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who invited Norwegian companies to invest in oil and gas exploration in Pakistan and discussed cooperation in education, skilled labor, climate resilience and technology, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
In a separate meeting with Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Eide discussed regional security and bilateral relations, with both sides underscoring the importance of cooperation to address common security challenges and agreeing to expand engagement in defense and security, Pakistan’s military said.
