Cyprus–Norway Relations
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Cyprus–Norway relations are foreign relations between
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. Diplomatic relations were established on 22 March 1963. The government in Cyprus considers that the "bilateral relations between Cyprus and Norway are excellent in all fields". Neither country has resident ambassadors.


Diplomatic relations

Cyprus is represented in Norway through its embassy in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and two honorary consulates, one in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
and the second in
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...
. Norway is represented in Cyprus through its embassy in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, and an honorary consulate in
Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
. Both countries are full members of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
. Diplomatic relations were established on 22 March 1963. On 7 April 1998,
Svein Ole Sæther Svein Ole Sæther (born 26 July 1948) is a Norwegian diplomat. He was born in Oslo, and is a cand.polit. by education. He started working for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1975. He was the Norwegian ambassador to Turkey from 1992 t ...
became the non-resident Norwegian Ambassador to Cyprus stationed in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
. He said " ilateral relationshave been enhanced over the last years, not at least due to tourism." Norway used the opportunity to reaffirm its support to a peaceful solution to the
Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of t ...
and said it would support Cyprus' entry into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.


Agreements

On 21 August 1951, there was a Consular Convention and an Exchange of Letters relating to establishing diplomatic relations. On 2 May 1951, there was a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income. On 17 May 1962, there was an Exchange of Letters constituting an Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirement in
Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
. On 5 March 1963, there was an Agreement on Commercial Scheduled Air Transport signed in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


Cyprus as tax haven

The taxation levels in Cyprus are considerably lower than in Norway, and Cyprus has actively courted Norwegians to move to Cyprus. Among the Norwegians who moved to Cyprus is the shipping billionaire
John Fredriksen John Fredriksen (born 10 May 1944) is a Norwegian-born Cypriot oil tanker and shipping billionaire businessman based in London. He owns the world's largest oil tanker fleet and has major interests in the offshore driller Seadrill, the fish farm ...
, who was the richest man in Norway. In 1996 tax rules in Norway were changed to keep shipping companies competitive and under the Norwegian flag as ships changed their registry to Cyprus. By 2008 changes to the
tonnage tax A tonnage tax is a taxation mechanism that can be applied to shipping companies instead of ordinary corporate taxation. The tax is determined by the net tonnage of the entire fleet of vessels under operation or use by a company. It is on the basis ...
regime to harmonize them with the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
forced some companies to register in Cyprus. Norwegian
Service rig A service rig is a mobile platform loaded with oil industry service equipment that can be driven long distances within the oil fields to service wells. Unlike drilling rigs, service rigs return to a particular well many times. There are several spe ...
company
Prosafe Prosafe SE is a company specialized in owning/operating semi-submersible accommodation vessels. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange () (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers No ...
moved their headquarters to Cyprus. Several Norwegian retirees also moved to Cyprus; this too is largely to benefit from the lower tax rate on Cyprus and the minimal crime.


See also

*
Foreign relations of Cyprus Cyprus is a member of the United Nations along with most of its agencies as well as the Commonwealth of Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Council of Europe. In addition, the country has signed the General Agreement on Ta ...
*
Foreign relations of Norway The foreign relations of Norway are based on the country's membership in NATO and within the workings of the United Nations (UN). Additionally, despite not being a member of the European Union (EU), Norway takes a part in the integration of EU ...
*
Greece–Norway relations Greece–Norway relations are foreign relations between Greece and Norway. The Greek Embassy in Oslo opened in 1980 and the Norwegian Embassy in Athens opened in 1974. Greece's embassy in Oslo (since 1980) and an honorary consulate in Bergen ...
* Norway–EU relations


References


External links


Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs: list of bilateral treaties with Norway

Cyprus embassy in Stockholm (also accredited to Norway)

Norway embassy in Athens (also accredited to Cyprus)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyprus-Norway relations
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
Bilateral relations of Norway