The Embassy of Norway in Pristina closes on July 31

The Embassy of Norway in Pristina will permanently close its doors on July 31 this year, it was confirmed to IndeksOnline.

Applications for tourist and residence permits for Norway were processed by the Norwegian Embassy in Ankara, and all requests from Pristina were already submitted through the VFS Global system, the Embassy explained.

Apart from Kosovo, Norway will close its embassies in other countries as well - in Bratislava (Slovakia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), the embassy office in Antananarivo (Madagascar), and the Consulate General in Houston (USA).

"It is never easy to decide to close Norwegian missions. Such closures affect the lives of posted Norwegian diplomats and have even greater consequences for staff employed in the country. But we have a responsibility to use our resources in a way that allows us to protect Norwegian interests as effectively as possible. Norway's diplomatic relations with Kosovo, Madagascar, Slovakia, and Sri Lanka will be handled through alternative arrangements, for example, the responsibility for this will be given to a nearby Norwegian embassy, or an ambassador based in Norway will be appointed for that country,” the announcement stated.

Norway currently has 101 diplomatic and consular missions, and the foreign service has more than 2,600 employees.