The Norwegian government has decided that Norway‘s sovereign wealth fund (the world’s largest fund) will freeze its investments in Russia and intends to sell its Russia stake in full.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has received many strong reactions this weekend. On Sunday, several countries, including Sweden and Denmark, announced that they would send weapons to support Ukraine.
Sweden will, among other things, send 5,000 armor shots, in addition to other military equipment. Among other things, Denmark has sent 2,700 armored weapons.
Norway will not do the same, but will send other military equipment such as helmets and vests to “the defending party”. This is confirmed by the government at press conference Sunday evening.
– This is protection material that Ukraine has requested. These are materials we can quickly send to Ukraine. In close dialogue with our closest partners, we will consider whether it may also be relevant with other types of contributions, says Minister of Defense Odd Roger Enoksen.
Freezes the Petroleum Fund’s investments
Norges Bank has been instructed to freeze investments in the Government Pension Fund Global in Russia. This as part of selling down and withdrawing completely from the Russian market.
– The type of abuse we have seen recently, can not be accepted, says Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp).
The Petroleum Fund has values of just over NOK 27 billion in Russia, Dagbladet Børsen wrote Friday.
– It is important to send signals that hit the Russian leadership, which has made the decision to start this war of aggression. We want to show that we do not take lightly the Russian attack in the middle of free Europe, says Støre.
The government has also decided to set aside up to NOK 2 billion to alleviate the humanitarian situation and help people on the run.
A law from 1959 basically prohibits Norwegian exports of weapons to countries where there is war or danger of war.
Source: The Nordic Page