OSLO, 13 August 2026 (TON): Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide arrived in Islamabad on Thursday, the first such visit in a decade. He was received at the airport by the Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Ayesha Ali. Norwegian Foreign Minister is undertaking the two-day visit from Aug 13-14 at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
During the visit, the two will hold delegation-level talks covering the full spectrum of Pakistan-Norway relations including regional and international developments and measures to end religious extremism in Pakistan through introducing modern education system and methodology in Islamic Madaris. The two sides will discuss avenues for further expanding bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, education and people-to-people contacts.
Pakistan and Norway have agreed to expand cooperation in the education sector, focusing on digital learning, teacher training, technical education and inclusive learning opportunities. The Government of Norway has supported the Government of Pakistan in introducing non-religious subjects in madrasas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the Basic Education Improvement Project (BEIP).The total budget for this project was 72.6mn NOK (13.6mn USD) of which madrasa support was one component with a total budget of 1.3mn NOK (approx. 243,000 USD). There were also recent contributions.
If we recall, the US Government even contributed in Madrasa Reform Programme, an estimated 225 million USD in US financial support for education projects in 2003 contributed to the reform processes being seen as having a foreign-driven agenda.
Earlier Norway’s State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik visited Islamabad in May 2026. Pakistan’s Foreign Office stated that the visit would provide an opportunity to further strengthen the longstanding and cordial relations between Pakistan and Norway and to explore new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.