00:00He is a former Norwegian MP and a former foreign minister for Norway,
00:04and was CEO and President of the World Economic Forum till this Thursday.
00:09Urge Brenda has resigned that role following a series of revelations
00:13relating to his past contacts with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
00:18After careful consideration, I've decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum.
00:24My time here, spanning eight and a half years, has been profoundly rewarding.
00:30The statement issued by the WEF made no mention of Epstein.
00:34Brenda has told Norwegian media he was sorry about how he handled his dealings
00:38with the disgraced American financier, which included business dinners,
00:42and that he didn't want the issue to distract from the Forum's work.
00:46Text messages from 2018 and 2019 released among the Epstein files
00:51appear to show a friendly tone between the two men,
00:54with Brenda in one contact in March 2018, saying,
00:58Dear Jeff, thanks for a very interesting dinner on Thursday.
01:03Food for thought. You're a brilliant host.
01:06Warmly, Borga, back in Geneva.
01:09Their last communication was a week before Epstein was arrested in 2019.
01:14Mentioned in the Epstein files does not imply any wrongdoing.
01:17The former minister is one of several prominent Norwegians
01:20who have faced scrutiny following the latest release of Epstein files.
01:24...geo-economic backdrop.
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