Ambassador Reflects on Norway’s Role As Most Generous Country in the World by Michael Coleman Countries around the world commonly urge the United States to dig deeper into its vast treasury and find more money for international development aid. None of these countries can make that request with more moral authority than Norway, an oil-rich European nation that consistently ranks at or near the top of the list of the most generous nations in the world. In 2004, Norway contributed 0.87 percent of its gross national income to official development aid, the highest percentage in the world. In 2005, that percentage jumped to 0.95 percent. The Nordic country aims to achieve a longstanding goal of a full 1 percent in the coming years. As the G8 Summit recently came to a close in Edinburgh, Scotland, Norway’s ambassador, Knut Vollebaek, sat down with The Washington Diplomat and discussed his country’s extraordinary commitment to bolstering small, impoverished nations and its implications at home and abroad. “We see this as more than altruism,” Vollebaek explained during a lengthy interview in his embassy office overlooking a tree-lined street near the U.S. Naval Observatory. “It’s not charity. It’s a question of human rights. “In a broader sense, it’s a matter of security policy. As we see it, stability in the world depends on the social and economic conditions under which people live. Their ability to live a meaningful life depends on their social and economic conditions.” The United States is by far the largest contributor toward international aid, having given more than $19 billion in 2004. But in relative terms, or based on gross domestic product or national income, the United States ranks just 25th in the world in generosity. The United States, at less than .02 percent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP), is far behind the goal set by the United Nations that its members contribute .07 percent of their GDP toward development aid. The prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands recently urged the G8 heads of state to provide more resources for fighting global poverty. Noting that their governments are among the most giving in the world, the leaders urged the G8 members, including the United States, to reverse a trend of declining aid and meet the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating world poverty by 2015. “The poorest of the world will measure progress not in terms of words, resolutions and reports but in terms of a better life,” the open letter to G8 countries read. “The contribution of the G8 countries is crucial in this respect.” Vollebaek explained that Norway’s generosity is rooted in a unique, almost accidental collaboration of the church and a radical labor movement. In the mid-1800s, Norwegian missionaries traveled to Africa and witnessed first-hand the continent’s poverty. “Despite the fact that Norway was a poor country at that time, people felt it was worse abroad and they got the urge to help,” Vollebaek said. As the 18th century neared to a close, a radical labor movement sprang to life and began focusing on international solidarity. “Even though these two movements disagreed on most issues, they agreed on this idea of international solidarity and that created a very broad basis in Norway’s political environment for assistance and involvement,” Vollebaek explained. “It might have [started] as altruism, but it was also about rights,” he added. That unique and potentially shaky building block has grown sturdier over the decades as a majority of Norwegians have embraced their role as the world’s most generous people. Other countries, such as Denmark and Sweden, occasionally knock Norway off its top perch, but usually not for very long. “It’s been a very interesting friendly competition among the Nordic countries about being at the top,” Vollebaek said with a smile. “Not all competition is healthy, but I think this one is.” Next Page