Malaysia Halts Defence Procurement from Norway

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA) - The Malaysian government has decided to halt the procurement of defence equipment from Norway, following Norway’s unilateral cancellation of export licences for its missiles to Malaysia.

“The Cabinet has decided that the Malaysian Ministry of Defence shall immediately cease all new procurement of defence equipment or supplies from Norway,” stated Malaysian Government Spokesperson and Minister of Communications, Fahmi Fiddil, in a media statement in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Fahmi stated that the decision was made after the Malaysian government reviewed recent developments regarding the Norwegian government’s decision to cancel the export licence for missiles to Malaysia, which were originally intended to be installed on the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (TLDM) Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

Previously, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had directly expressed strong objections regarding the revocation of the export licence for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during a telephone conversation.

According to Anwar, the decision was made unilaterally by Norway under the pretext of protecting Norwegian security.

Anwar emphasised that Malaysia has meticulously fulfilled every obligation under this contract since 2018, with full good faith and without any doubt.

“However, it appears that Norway does not feel the need to demonstrate the same attitude towards us or uphold such good faith,” Anwar asserted.