Norwegian companies exported defence equipment for NOK 5.8 billion last year

Ine Eriksen Søreide.Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide(Norway).Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix

In 2018, Norwegian companies exported defence equipment and services for NOK 5.8 billion. This is a decrease from 2017 when the value was NOK 6.3 billion.

‘’Norway shows great openness about the export of defence materials, both in terms of access to the actual exports and in the practice of the guidelines for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ processing of license applications for defence materials. It is important for the government to continue this openness’’ said Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide of Høyre (H) in a press release.

The total value of exports in 2018 was about NOK 5.8 billion, of which the value of defence-related goods was NOK 4.8 billion. The value of export of weapons and ammunition, also called A-material, amounted to approximately NOK 3.9 billion in 2018. The value of exports of other military equipment, called B-material, was about NOK 770 million.

The value of total exports decreased by 8 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017.

In 2018, exports of A materials to NATO countries, Sweden, and Finland accounted for approximately 78% of total exports, compared with 63% of total exports the year before. Exports of B-materials to these countries accounted for 61%. The United States was the largest single recipient of Norwegian defence equipment.

‘’Norway has a strict and comprehensive set of rules regarding the control of the export of defence materials, and we carry a strict “precautionary” line. This line led, among other things, to the government in December 2017 deciding to suspend the export of weapons and ammunition to the United Arab Emirates’’ said Søreide.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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