Is Norway going to purchase Shetland Islands from UK? Norway will tap into its sovereign wealth fund to purchase the Shetland Islands from the U.K., the two seafood-loving countries announced on Friday.
“In our mind, this deal was a no-brainer. Shetland still has strong ties to Norway and with our fertility rate at an all-time low, we could certainly use the population boost,” Norway’s newly-appointed minister of global expansion, Erik Gundersen, said in a statement, The Local.No reported.
Gundersen said that he expects the majority to embrace Norway, pointing to the strong ties that still exist between both places.
“We know that a lot of people on Shetland still identify with their inner Viking and that Scotland often looks to Scandinavia for inspiration. This would give them instant access to the vaunted Nordic model. Plus, they’d barely have to change their flag."
Gundersen said that he expects a strong return on its investment, pointing to how the Shetland Islands and Norway have both been hurt by falling oil prices.
“We’re both taking a bit of a beating on the global oil market, but between the Shetlands’ booming mackerel business and our salmon trade, we reckon we can provide seafood to all of Europe,” he said.
