KrF, SV, MDG and Rødt join forces on demands for land in the south in the Ukraine package

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) will be informed of this when he meets the parliamentary leaders at the Storting on Tuesday followingnoon. Støre called a meeting to present the plans for stepping up the Nansen programme.

Ahead of the meeting, KrF leader Olaug Bollestad makes it clear that she expects support for countries in the south to also be continued.

– Ukraine produced food for 400 million people before the war. Now it is expected that 600 million people will be chronically malnourished in 2030, and an additional 120 million will starve because of the war in Ukraine, says Bollestad.

– Still extraordinary consequences for countries in the south

When the parliamentary parties agreed on the Ukraine aid, an aid package was also negotiated for developing countries that were affected by food shortages due to the war.

The Storting agreed to continue the southern package “if the war in Ukraine continues to have major, extraordinary consequences for the world’s poor”, Bollestad points out.

– The extraordinary consequences for the world’s poor are also quite clear this year, she says.

The demand will be put forward at the meeting between Støre and the parliamentary leaders which starts at the Storting at 2pm. SV says that they are “in the forefront” to get the package continued.

– When the government itself notes that the ripple effects of the war for developing countries still persist, it is completely illogical to stop the part of the historic aid settlement that goes to the global south, says foreign policy spokesperson Ingrid Fiskaa.

Red: Extra profit brings responsibility

Rødt leader Marie Sneve Martinussen believes Norway has a special responsibility since we are sitting with an enormous extra profit from the same “sky-high energy prices that create food shortages and distress in the south”.

– Then it is clear that an increase in the Nansen program must also involve a continuation of support for countries in the south, she says.

MDG’s Rasmus Hansson joins the initiative,

– Poorer countries have been hit hard by the ripple effects of the war, such as more expensive energy and food prices. Therefore, we believe it is important that more money also comes to the so-called southern package if the rest of the Nansen program is increased, he says.

Announced increased support

Støre announced just over a week ago that the government will increase support for Ukraine, including money for more air defence. This may involve an increase in the overall framework for the Nansen programme, Støre announced via State Secretary Kristoffer Thoner, but without going into more detail regarding the facility.

The exact amount of the support is also not known. So far, the Storting has agreed that Norway will spend NOK 75 billion over a period of five years.