I put my trust in Jens Stoltenberg

Over the past year, some politicians have proposed cutting Norway's international contributions to move more investments home. For example, cutting aid, rather than investing in defense.

However, this is a short-term and potentially costly strategy.

A strong defense alone is not enough. With Jens Stoltenberg, Norway has got a finance minister who understands security policy better than most.

He knows that defense is about more than just bullets and gunpowder -- it's also about stability in the world, and prevention of crises.

When we strengthen democratic governance, health care and economic development in vulnerable states, we simultaneously reduce the likelihood of conflicts, refugee crises and pandemics.

It is also in Norway interest.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis told the Senate in 2013, “If you don't fully fund the State Department, I'm going to have to buy more munitions.”

In other words: The more we invest in conflict prevention and stability, the less we need to spend on bullets and gunpowder. Donald Trump doesn't understand this, and it could cost the United States dearly.

The war in Ukraine has shown us that a strong defense is necessary to protect democracies, but also that weapons and soldiers are not enough. Ukraine's resilience has also depended on good infrastructure, a good healthcare system and public administration. Not to mention international cooperation and response.

Climate change will also contribute to more conflict and war, which in turn makes climate action harder to achieve. This connection has Stoltenberg expressed concern about Several times in NATO.

We see the same danger signs in Africa. When Western countries now cut in international contributions, a vacuum is created that is being filled by other actors. After France Withdrew from Mali, Russia and the paramilitary group Wagner have taken their place.

China, for its part, offers loans and aid without demands for democratic reforms. This weakens security globally.

The last five years have seriously taught us that viruses and pandemics know no borders. Norwegian participation in the EU Health Union is critical to our preparedness and access to vaccines in the event of a new pandemic. With the Centre Party out of government, this hopefully falls into place.

A less discussed need, however, is to invest in better health systems in countries in the south. Earlier notification of new viruses is obviously in our interest, whether they show up here at home or in poor countries.

For decades, Norway has shown leadership in global health. Through initiatives such as the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and CEPI, we have helped save millions of lives, while strengthening health systems globally.

This not only reduces the prevalence of serious diseases -- it also creates more stable societies and reduced migration. Our new finance minister knows this work well.

Norway has a long tradition of combining values-based foreign policy with strategic interests. For decades, Norway has shown leadership in poverty reduction aid, global health and peace mediation.

Unfortunately, Norway has investments in this area dropped significantly over the past decadeas a share of the Norwegian economy. And in the U.S. has trump decided they are going out of the WHO, and cut their healthcare investments globally.

In both places, right-wing populists want to shift their focus “homeward,” and to spend more of the state budget nationally.

The government of the day, thankfully, argues the opposite. IN a post in Aftenposten recently, Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote that a twist homeward will “have the opposite effect: It will provide less security and influence”.

I hope Jens Stoltenberg will stand for the same line. He should understand that development aid, global health and action against climate change is not just charity -- it is also our first line of defense against emerging crises globally.

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