DAVOS, Switzerland: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and her Norwegian Counterpart Erna Solberg met on Thursday in Davos on the sidelines of the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and vowed to focus on trade, investment and development cooperation in a bid to further expand Pakistan-Norway bilateral relations.
During the meeting, the two leaders called for exploring new avenues of cooperation between Pakistan and Norway.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with Norway and recalled his productive visit to Norway in July 2015, followed by meeting in New York on the sidelines of UN general assembly session in September 2015.
Nawaz Sharif apprised the Norwegian prime minister of his government’s focus on trade and economic cooperation rather than aid. He noted that Norway had been a strong partner for investment, trade and development cooperation with Pakistan.
The prime minister further said that there had been regular exchange of high-level visits between the two sides and stressed need to sustain this momentum of regular interaction at high-level.
Nawaz Sharif also extended invitation to the prime minister of Norway to visit Pakistan.
Moreover, Sharif emphasized enhanced contact between the two countries at political and economic levels. He also appreciated Norway’s development cooperation with Pakistan, especially in the health and education sectors.
In her remarks, the Norwegian prime minister said her county had already made investments in Pakistan and expressed the desire to harness the trade potential in Pakistan to the fullest.
Erna Solberg appreciated the economic revival of Pakistan besides success in addressing extremism and terrorism.
It is pertinent here that Pakistan’s exports to Norway include bed linens, articles of apparel and clothing, rice, sports goods and hosiery items while Pakistan’s imports from Norway are limited to polymers of ethylene and vinyl chloride and some natural polymers in primary forms, and other items include electrical equipment and scrap of iron and steel etc.
