Palestinian president to visit Norway

OSLO: Norwegian authorities say Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Oslo next week to meet top officials on issues including international aid.

The Norwegian prime minister’s office says Abbas will come to the Norwegian capital from Prague on Tuesday to meet with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Abbas of the Fatah movement was a key player on the Palestinian side in Norwegian-led talks that led to the 1993 Oslo Agreement peace accords with Israel.

Norway was the first Western country to recognize a Palestinian coalition led by the militant Hamas faction in 2007. Norway also leads the group of donor nations for Palestinian areas.

The prime minister office gave no further details of the brief visit on Friday.

Source: iht.com