FrP leader Sylvi Listhaug reacts strongly to the fact that there is still no consolidated overview of Norwegian development aid support to American think tanks – nearly 13 years after the problem was first uncovered.
– This is shocking, Listhaug tells Panorama Nyheter.
The background is that Norad confirms to Panorama that the directorate has never prepared a running overview of the support to American research institutions and think tanks.
A deep dive into Norad’s statistics portal shows that more than 100 American actors have received Norwegian development aid over the past 15 years.
As early as 2012, a report from NOREF concluded that Norway was among the largest foreign contributors to American think tanks – surpassed only by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The report recommended more thorough evaluation and fewer partners.
Listhaug believes the findings depict a system without sufficient control.
– We stand wholeheartedly behind Norwegian humanitarian aid. But disbursing large sums to think tanks in New York and elsewhere in the world, I do not approve of. All the more important, then, that all of this now comes onto the table, she says.
The FrP leader also questions the argument that the support is necessary in order to give Norwegian politicians access to important foreign policy environments.
– It is very sad if we have to hand out masses of money to achieve that. I would maintain that it must be entirely possible to obtain such meetings without handing out all this money, says Listhaug.
Norad, for its part, explains that think tanks are not a separate category in the development aid statistics, and that the ministries have not requested such reporting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utenriksdepartementet) is now in the process of preparing an overview for the Storting, according to the directorate.
The matter comes at the same time as the Storting’s Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs (kontroll- og konstitusjonskomiteen) has adopted open hearings on the UD and the foreign service in the wake of the Epstein case.