Foreign Secretary travels to Norway to strengthen defence and security cooperation
Foreign Secretary David Lammy will commit to strengthening UK-Norway defence and security cooperation on a visit to Norwegian Joint Headquarters with Foreign Minister Barth Eide today [18 September].
During the Foreign Secretary’s visit, he will reaffirm both countries’ commitment to Ukraine, particularly through military support to boost their defence capabilities. They will also discuss efforts to tackle Russia’s shadow fleet, cutting the flow of illicit funds to Putin’s war chest following on from UK sanctions.
Norway and the UK have a long history of defence and security collaboration especially in the High North. Norway has hosted British Armed Forces’ Arctic training for over 50 years, and over 4,000 UK troops will visit Norway in the next six months for winter training and military exercises.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:
In the face of Russia’s sustained malign influence campaigns, and its recent baseless expulsion of British diplomats, the UK and Norway will agree to enhance intelligence-sharing and cooperation to counter Russian disinformation networks in Europe and beyond.
The Foreign Secretary will welcome Norway’s navy patrols of the waters between the UK and the Russian Northern Fleet, detecting, deterring and managing increasingly sophisticated subsea threats to energy, security and critical national infrastructure.
Norway is an important ally on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, especially when it comes to ongoing conflict in Gaza. The UK and Norway are also focused on ensuring joint ambition on development truly delivers for global partners.
Norway is also a key trading partner in supplying the UK with the energy it needs to power growth. That is why the UK and Norwegian Prime Ministers agreed in July to begin work on a new Norwegian-UK partnership on security and the energy transition.