Norwegian Security Council raises alarms about China business trip
The director of the Norwegian Security Council says most business executives who participated in the delegation on a trip to China did not take any special security measures.
In April, Prime Minister Erna Solberg travelled to China on the first Norwegian state visit for ten years.
Together with her, nearly 240 people from Norwegian businesses came along, including 14 senior executives.
Now the Director of Business Safety, Jack Fischer Eriksen, raises the alarm about the safety level of business leaders on the trip, according to Dagens Næringsliv.
“We have reason to believe that most did not take any special measures,” he said.
Help from PST
Norwegian government officials were helped with their safety by PST, but according to Fischer Eriksen, many travelled from the business community without carrying out additional security precautions.
He says he has talked with several people who travelled, some those who facilitated the trip, as well as various organizations that could have provided security briefings. None of them confirm that this was done.
He believes one must be particularly careful with digital security in a country like China, adding both PST and the Armed Forces are clear about the intelligence threat from the country.
“China and Russia are specifically mentioned as players. With that backdrop, information security when travelling is essential, he says.
On Monday, the Fisheries Minister Per Sandberg will visit China to attend a seafood conference. Also on this trip there is a business delegation with seafood executives and companies in the supply industry.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
