Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide arrived in Islamabad on August 13 for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, marking the first visit to Pakistan by a Norwegian foreign minister in ten years.
Dar received Eide at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for delegation-level talks covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations. Discussions spanned trade, investment, climate change, renewable energy, maritime affairs, and education. Both sides recognised the significant role of the Pakistani diaspora in Norway and agreed to strengthen people-to-people ties, expressing satisfaction with the warm state of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The visit reflects sustained diplomatic momentum between Pakistan and Norway over the course of this year. It builds on a series of high-level engagements, including phone calls between Dar and Eide in March and April, and a visit by Norway’s State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik to Islamabad in May.
The two-day visit is expected to produce further agreements or frameworks for cooperation in areas of shared interest, particularly renewable energy and climate action, sectors where Norway brings considerable expertise and where Pakistan has significant development needs and ambitions.
The visit is being seen as a sign of growing Norwegian interest in deepening its partnership with Pakistan, a country that punches above its weight on global issues including climate vulnerability, diaspora contributions to European economies, and regional security dynamics. For Islamabad, the engagement adds another European bilateral relationship to a diplomatic calendar that has been increasingly active in 2026.
