Policy Updates

On September 26, 2025, at a meeting of the AHLC, Norway and 11 other countries launched the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the PA, with Norway contributing NOK40 million (US$4 million) to a crisis package.

The coalition, which also includes Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK, was established to stabilize the PA’s finances and preserve its ability to govern. The launch took place during an AHLC meeting in New York chaired by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa attending virtually. The coalition demanded that Israel immediately release all Palestinian clearance revenues, which constitute over 60% of the revenue the PA needs.

The crisis package aims to support essential services like hospitals and schools. Norway’s contribution is in addition to NOK200 million (US$20 million) in budget support transferred earlier in 2025. The coalition will also promote a sustainable and coordinated approach with IFIs to support reforms and ensure accountability, affirming the effort as an investment in regional peace and the two-state solution.

On September 25^th, 2025, during UNGA80 in New York, the Government of Norway committed NOK55 million (US$5.5 million) to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership for 2025, to expand access to contraceptives and maternal health supplies in 54 countries.

The new funding is intended to help avert an estimated 378,000 unintended pregnancies, more than 1,000 maternal deaths, and more than 6,000 child deaths. Norwegian Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust stated that Norway is committed to protecting sexual and reproductive rights and ensuring access to vital health services as a prerequisite for sustainable development.

The investment will leverage the UNFPA Supplies Partnership’s Match Fund, which encourages countries to increase their own spending on reproductive health. This has led to a fivefold increase in domestic spending on contraceptives since 2020.

On September 15, 2025, a UN Women report revealed that progress on women's rights is stagnating and regressing due to conflict, aid cuts, and a backlash against gender equality, and called on governments at the UN General Assembly in New York to commit to renewed action, highlighting that the US$420 billion needed annually to advance gender equality is a fraction of the US$2.7 trillion spent on the military.

The report, a gender snapshot monitoring progress on the SDGs, found that 676 million women and girls lived near deadly conflict in 2024, the highest number since the 1990s. Women are also more likely to be affected by rising food insecurity. The report projects that climate change could push an additional 158.3 million women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.

Director of UN Women’s policy division, Sarah Hendriks, contrasted the US$2.7 trillion in annual military spending with the estimated US$420 billion needed to advance gender equality. The report also noted a digital gender divide, which if addressed, could lift 30 million women and girls out of poverty by 2050 and generate a US$1.5 trillion increase in global GDP by 2030. UN Women is calling for renewed commitments at the UN General Assembly, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration.

On September 8, 2025, Norway's Labor Party, led by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, won the Norwegian general election with 28.2% of the vote.

With the support of four smaller center-left parties, Labor has a chance of forming a rare two-seat majority government in the 169-seat Parliament.

The anti-immigration Progress Party, led by Sylvi Listhaug, made significant gains, doubling its vote share to nearly 24% and securing 48 seats. The Conservatives, led by former Prime Minister Erna Solberg, lost ground, receiving 14.6% of the vote.

Following the election, development organizations expressed hope that the new government would maintain a strong commitment to development assistance and climate action. Several organizations called for Norway to uphold its commitment to 1% ODA/GNI to development and to take a stronger stance on international issues, including the conflict in Gaza.

On August 27, 2025, Norway's delegation, led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, released its priorities for the 80^th UNGA, focusing on fostering multilateral cooperation through the UN80 Initiative, promoting international law, and advancing the 2030 Agenda, while reaffirming its commitment to allocate 1% of GNI to ODA.

Amid geopolitical upheaval and a financial crisis at the UN, Norway will focus on countering polarization and supporting the UN80 reform initiative to make the organization more effective. The Norwegian delegation, which also includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide and Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust, will work to restore trust in the multilateral system, which is under pressure from Russia's war in Ukraine and reduced funding from major donors like the US.

Key priorities include promoting respect for international law, defending human rights with a focus on gender equality, and enhancing the UN's capacity for peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Norway will also continue to push for disarmament and maintain the UN's capacity to respond to humanitarian crises. The delegation will advance the 2030 Agenda, with special emphasis on financing for development, climate action, global health, and ocean sustainability.

On August 18, 2025, Gunn Jorid Roset became the new Director General of the Norad, stating that in a turbulent world with other countries cutting assistance, Norwegian development assistance is more important than ever.

Roset emphasized that Norad's role is to ensure Norwegian assistance is used as effectively as possible to fight poverty and promote sustainable development, which she described as an investment in shared welfare and Norwegian interests. She highlighted Norad's work in both long-term development and humanitarian assistance, including its support for Ukraine through the Nansen Programme.

Roset brings 27 years of experience from the MFA, where she most recently served as Director of the Multilateral Department. In her new six-year term, she intends to continue Norad's close cooperation with CSOs, multilateral organizations, and the private sector.

On August 18, 2025, in response to a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide announced an additional NOK1 billion (US$98 million) to help Ukraine secure gas imports through the EBRD before the upcoming winter.

The new funding, provided under the NSPU, is in addition to a NOK1 billion contribution made in March 2025. The support addresses the severe damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure from Russian attacks and is expected to secure heating and electricity for approximately one million families during the 2025-2026 winter season.

The funding will be channeled through the EBRD to the Ukrainian state-owned gas company, Naftogaz, for procuring gas from Western sources. This contribution brings Norway’s total support for Ukraine’s gas procurement to NOK4.6 billion (US$450 million) since 2022.

On August 15, 2025, the Norwegian MCE announced the NOGER Initiative, backed by a NOK8.2 billion (US$803 million) mandate from the Norwegian Parliament to support emission reductions in developing countries through the Paris Agreement's Article 6 framework.

The NOGER Initiative facilitates voluntary cooperation, or carbon trading, between countries to achieve emission targets. This mechanism is intended to help both host and buyer countries increase their climate ambitions beyond their current NDCs.

By promoting this cooperation, the initiative aims to accelerate the global green transition and mobilize private investment in green solutions. The initiative builds on Norway's long-standing experience in international climate cooperation.

On August 14, 2025, the resumed 5^th session of the INC-5.2 in Geneva, Switzerland, concluded without reaching a consensus on a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, though UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that all member states agreed to continue negotiations.

Negotiations to establish a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution concluded without an agreement. UN officials, including UNEP Executive Director Andersen and UN Secretary-General Guterres, acknowledged the outcome but emphasized that all countries remained committed to the process. The talks, which included delegates from 183 nations and representatives from over 400 CSOs faced significant differences on key issues.

The US delegation supported an agreement that allows for tailored, country-specific solutions to reduce plastic pollution while opposing prescriptive, top-down regulations. INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso and INC Executive Secretary Jyoti Mathur-Filipp reaffirmed their dedication to moving forward and achieving a future agreement.

On July 28, 2025, Norway announced a contribution of NOK200 million (US$20 million) to support the Palestinian government in paying public employee salaries amid a severe economic crisis.

The announcement came as Norweigan Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attended a UN conference on the two-state solution. The funds are intended to help sustain essential services such as healthcare and education. The economic crisis has been exacerbated by the war in Gaza and Israel’s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, which, according to Palestinian authorities, amount to NOK28 billion (US$2.7 billion) since October 2023.

The contribution brings Norway's total support to Palestine in 2025 to more than NOK1.1 billion (US$109 million).