Kazakhstan and Norway Strengthen Interregional Ties

Oslo, August 8, 2024 – Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Norway, Adil Tursunov, paid a visit to Nordland province.

During negotiations in Leknes with Paul Kruger, the acting mayor of the municipality of Vestvågøy, the Kazakh diplomat presented the socio-economic potential of our country and the large-scale political reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The parties discussed the possibility of establishing direct contacts between a district in one of Kazakhstan’s regions and the municipality in the Lofoten Islands, where agriculture, oil production, fishing, and tourism are actively developing.

Adil Tursunov visited the villages of Ostad and Borge, where several camps for prisoners of war existed in 1943-1945. In 1995, the Norwegian side installed a plaque in front of the entrance to Borge Church with the inscription: «In memory of 600 Soviet prisoners of war in German fascist camps in the territories of Ostad, Hauga, Sund, and Stamsund. Vestvågøy commune».

During the meeting with Norwegian activists, a project to establish a memorial for prisoners of war who died in Ostad in the spring of 1945 was discussed. According to the information gathered by local residents, one of the deceased, Ivan Povoroznyuk, was a native of the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan. The memorial is planned to be installed in Vestvågøy in May of next year.   

At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides noted a mutual interest in expanding cooperation in various fields.