ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Pakistan and Norway on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

The development came as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, who arrived in Islamabad earlier in the day, the first such visit in a decade.

The Foreign Office (FO) said the two held a “restricted-format meeting”.

“DPM Dar warmly welcomed Eide to Pakistan. The two ministers discussed the full range of bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments, and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest,” it said.

Upon his arrival to Islamabad, Eide was received at the airport by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Ayesha Ali.

In a statement on Wednesday, the FO said the minister is undertaking the visit from Aug 13-14 at Dar’s invitation. During the visit, the two will hold delegation-level talks covering the full spectrum of Pakistan-Norway relations, it said.

“The two sides will discuss avenues for further expanding bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, education and people-to-people contacts.

“They will also exchange views on important regional and international developments,” it added.

It said that the visit would build on high-level engagement between the two countries, including phone conversation between Dar and Eide in March and April, and the visit of Norway’s State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik to Islamabad in May.

The FO stated that the visit would provide an opportunity to “further strengthen the longstanding and cordial relations between Pakistan and Norway and to explore new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation”.