The Norwegian government will allocate approximately $107 million (1 billion Norwegian kroner) for investments in Ukraine, which will be carried out in partnership with domestic businesses to mobilize additional private capital for the Ukrainian defense industry, according to a statement on the Norwegian government’s website on Tuesday.
It is noted that the new program is proposed to be implemented with a three-year financial framework, and the necessary funds will be allocated under the already approved Fridtjof Nansen Support Program for Ukraine. The new initiative will be managed by the state-owned investment company Investinor, which will focus on funds operating in Norway that invest in the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex.
“Ukrainian defense companies hold leading positions in a number of areas. Norwegian investments will help the Ukrainian defense sector develop even more rapidly and will also allow relevant Norwegian players to participate more closely in the sector’s development,” the publication quotes Norwegian Minister of Industry and Trade Cecilie Mirseth as saying.
For his part, Norwegian Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that a partnership between public and private capital will provide Ukraine with the necessary resources for defense.
Norwegian Minister of Defense Tore O. Sandvik stressed that the development of Ukraine’s defense industry will strengthen deterrence even after a ceasefire is achieved, and that expanding cooperation between the defense sectors of the two countries is in the interests of European and Norwegian security.
Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide added that Norway will continue to support Ukraine through the “Nansen” program to counter Russian aggression and rebuild the country.
As previously reported, in August, Ukraine and Norway signed a cooperation agreement on unmanned aerial vehicles, aimed at strengthening collaboration between the two countries’ defense sectors and opening new opportunities for the joint production of defense technologies. In addition, Norway will maintain its support for
for Ukraine under the “Nansen” program at a level of approximately $9 billion.
