Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Wednesday that Norway’s cooperation with the International Peace Institute (IPI) had no connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, defending government funding for the think tank during a parliamentary hearing, public broadcaster NRK reported.
Answering questions about his tenure as foreign minister from 2005 to 2012, Store said there was no information indicating that Epstein had participated in implementing Norwegian foreign or development policy.
“There has been no information that Epstein has been in contact with or a collaborator in the implementation of Norwegian foreign or development policy,” he said.
The hearing follows the release earlier this year of millions of Epstein-related documents by the US Justice Department, which prompted scrutiny of figures in Norwegian public life.
Store said IPI, formerly led by Norwegian diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen, provided a useful platform for advancing Norwegian interests at the UN and reaching decision-makers.
“Overall, our experience with IPI was positive, and therefore we entered into new agreements,” he said, adding that the political leadership considered the cooperation “a good investment for Norway.”
Christian Democratic Party representative Jonas Andersen Sayed questioned an increase in annual funding from 4 million to 11 million Norwegian kroner between 2006 and 2007.
“We don’t measure ourselves against others,” Store replied.
Store said civil servants recommended entering into a framework agreement with IPI in 2006 and denied that political instructions had been issued to secure funding transfers.
He also said Rod-Larsen’s Norwegian nationality had not changed the government’s funding decisions.
Meanwhile, former Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende apologized for initially denying contact with Epstein, telling a parliamentary hearing that he had shown poor judgment.
“I want to apologize for not being honest right away,” Brende told lawmakers at the Storting.
Brende, who served as foreign minister from 2013 to 2017, said he had no contact with Epstein during his time in government. Their contact and meetings took place in 2018 and 2019, when he was president of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“I was probably afraid that the contact would be interpreted as something more than it was. And that it would affect the forum right before Davos. I showed poor judgment,” he said.
Lawmakers also questioned Brende about a 2018 email in which Epstein suggested the WEF could replace the UN — an idea to which Brende had responded positively.
“I have never meant that the World Economic Forum can replace the UN,” Brende said, adding that he should have dismissed the suggestion as nonsense.
Epstein case
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls.
Released case files named prominent figures, including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and former Prince Andrew, though being named does not establish wrongdoing.
A joint FBI and Justice Department review found no evidence of a “client list” and concluded that Epstein died by suicide.
