Norway and the World Bank signed two agreements on Wednesday covering better management of public funds in low-income countries, with a combined framework of 110 million kroner. The deals run from 2026 through 2029 and leave room for further scaling up, according to Nettavisen.
The signing took place during the World Bank's annual meeting in Bangkok on Wednesday morning Norwegian time. Norway is backing two of the bank's programs.
Development Minister Åsmund Aukrust of the Labour Party told Nettavisen by phone from Bangkok that corruption is one of the main reasons developing countries fail to escape poverty.
"Corruption is poison for a society and helps destroy trust. Corruption is stealing money from the community," he said, adding that the problem is serious everywhere but especially damaging in poor countries that badly need funds for schools, health services, roads and energy infrastructure.
He called improving anti-corruption systems possibly the single most important form of assistance Norway can provide.
Why it matters
The agreements land at a moment when international development funding is under heavy pressure. The United States and several European countries have made significant cuts to their aid budgets over the past year, and Nettavisen reports that the sharp drop in global assistance has had serious consequences for poor and developing countries.
Aukrust framed the new programs as a response to that squeeze. In his view, the world does not lack money, and neither do poor countries — the problem is that funds are used wrongly, lost to corruption or moved out of the country.
He argued that far more money disappears through corruption than is spent on aid, which is why fighting it will sit high on his agenda.
The minister also pointed to a practical payoff: strengthening anti-corruption work improves the odds that aid, combined with developing countries' own tax revenues, can support long-term development.
Building tax systems and attracting investment
According to Nettavisen, the two agreements are meant to help developing countries strengthen their own financial management and to support reform programs in the public sector.
Aukrust said the goal is to enable these countries to raise their own revenue through taxes and fees — and then to spend that money well, so it does not slip out of the common purse.
He added that sound governance is essential for drawing private investment, which in turn creates jobs and larger tax incomes for a country.
The 110 million kroner framework covers the 2026–2029 period, with the possibility of expanding the effort later.
What to watch: whether the programs are scaled up beyond the current framework, and how the broader decline in international aid affects low-income countries' ability to fund their own public services.
