Norway's PM urges U.S. to provide more development aid

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the United States does not contribute enough to development aid globally, newspaper VG reported Saturday.

"The Americans should use more money to contribute to economic development in countries worldwide. We think that all countries should reach the UN's goal of 0.7 percent (of GDP) for development (assistance)," Solberg, who is in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, told VG in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's requirement that NATO countries should spend more on defense.

While stressing the importance of UN's call for a concrete goal of development aid, Solberg said Norway uses 1 percent of its GDP for development aid, according to the report.

"Creating jobs in Africa contributes to economic development, which in turn contributes to more security in our own region. However, this should not be belittle the need to spend more money for development aid," Solberg said.

"We will also work more towards conflict prevention within our contribution. Security and development go together, but we also need defense and increased defense appropriations," she added.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that many NATO allies lack a clear and credible path to increased defense spending and the time to get one is now. He told his audience that President Trump expects the U.S. allies to keep their word on defense spending.

During a 2014 summit in Wales, NATO members pledged to gradually increase defense spending to 2 percent of their GDP by 2024. Endit