On Monday, January 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed his colleague, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, in Kyiv.
Against the background of Russian shelling of Ukraine's energy during the winter cold, the key topics of the negotiations were energy support, defense cooperation and strengthening air defense.
Norway has announced the allocation of a new support package of $400 million, which will be aimed at strengthening energy, including the purchase of gas and equipment, as well as direct budget support to ensure social payments and other budget items.
During the negotiations, the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined the priorities of cooperation for this year and held a detailed conversation on a wide range of issues of bilateral relations, in particular, on investment potential and building mutually beneficial partnerships in the areas of security, defense and technology.
"Ukraine and Norway already have a number of joint defense projects, and today it is no coincidence that leading Ukrainian defense companies participated in our negotiations. It's about joint, mutually beneficial cooperation," Andrii Sybiha said.
The ministers paid special attention to strengthening Ukrainian air defense as part of the European air shield. Both at the bilateral level and with the involvement of other partners.
"Strengthening the protection of the Ukrainian sky is not only the protection of lives, but also an investment in the peace and security of the whole of Europe," the Foreign Minister said.
During the negotiations, Andrii Sybiha informed his colleague about the dynamics of peace efforts with the United States and European partners and Ukraine's readiness for the next steps. The heads of foreign policy departments separately discussed the strengthening of sanctions pressure on Russia and the work on strong security guarantees for Ukraine.
“This war has been going on longer than the Soviet-German war. At the same time, the aggressor has not achieved a single strategic goal in these almost four years. Now is the time to unite all efforts to force Moscow for peace," Andrii Sybiha emphasized.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed his deep gratitude to Norway for its significant contribution to the treatment of Ukrainian soldiers and discussed the further development and expansion of relevant programs.
Andrii Sybiha especially noted the help of Norway during the winter period. According to the minister, the new package of energy support for Ukraine announced today by the Norwegian government is very timely and will help strengthen the stability of the state and society.
“This is a continuation of sustainable energy support from Oslo. Last year, it was the Norwegians who came to the rescue when we urgently needed to purchase additional volumes of gas for the heating season," the head of the Foreign Ministry said.
In December, the Norwegian parliament approved $8.3 billion to support Ukraine for 2026, maintaining last year's level. Norway is the leader in the PURL initiative with a total contribution of $850 million.
Andrii Sybiha noted that almost 17 billion in two years is a powerful support and contribution to security and peace throughout Europe.
The foreign ministers also exchanged views on a wide range of issues on the international agenda, including the events in Iran, Venezuela, and the detention of tankers of the Russian shadow fleet.
Andrii Sybiha separately noted the personal role of Minister Espen Barth Eide in supporting Ukraine both in the bilateral dimension and on all international platforms, and noted the wonderful and close personal dialogue between the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre.