Norway is to provide Ukraine with additional $78.5 million in aid
Osmund Aukrust, Norway’s Minister for Development, has announced that the country will provide Ukraine with an additional 750 million Norwegian kroner, or around $78.5 million, to support the country’s operations during the full-scale war.
According to Censor.NET, this is mentioned in his interview with VG.
Norway will help fund wages and social security payments
The funds will be channelled into the World Bank’s SPUR 2 programme to support Ukraine. They will help to pay the salaries of public sector workers, fund social benefits and rebuild infrastructure.
According to Osmund Akrust, Norway’s contribution will make it possible to attract more loan funds for Ukraine. Every Norwegian krone invested in the programme can generate approximately three kroner of loan funding.
Consequently, a contribution of 750 million kroner could help to attract more than 2 billion kroner in loans.
The mechanism works as follows: Norway provides the initial funding, whilst the World Bank uses its capacity to raise funds on the financial markets. This money is then provided to Ukraine in the form of loans.
"The war is being fought on the front line, but it is also being fought every day — by keeping society functioning, ensuring that children can go to school, and that the nurses who treat the wounded are paid," said the minister.
Oslo continues to support Ukraine
At the end of September, Norway announced an additional 25 million kroner, or 2.3 million euros, in humanitarian aid.
Norway also plans to contribute 90 million euros to the Ukraine Facility programme. The funds are intended to support reforms in Ukraine in the areas of the fight against corruption and energy.
