Check against delivery

State Secretary, Excellences, Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbours,

I am honored to address you at this seminar today. Norway and Russia have a long tradition of cooperation in the Arctic. Two years ago we celebrated the 70th anniversary for Russia freeing Finnmark and later giving it back to Norway.

Throughout history, an important way of showing a cooperative spirit and solidarity in face of a challenging nature has been to participate in joint rescue operations in the Arctic. This is clearly shown in the exhibition we are opening today.

There is a long line from the joint rescue operation to find the explorer Nobile, via the “Maxim Gorkij” rescue operation in 1989 to the binding agreement on Search and Rescue between the Arctic countries from 2011.

Today, the Russian-Norwegian cooperation in the polar region manifests itself through close cooperation in many practical ways. Well known is the successful management of joint fish stocks in the Barents Sea, the environmental cooperation, the polar bear cooperation on Svalbard and Franz Josef land, and the people to people cooperation in the Barents region. Norway and Russia are also close partners in the Arctic Council and the Arctic parliamentary cooperation.

This spirit of solidarity and cooperation has also manifested itself during the first 20 years of cooperation in the Arctic Council. Over a short period of time the Arctic Council has developed into an international regional organization characterized by peaceful and constructive cooperation by members, innovative governance and involvement of the indigenous peoples living in the Arctic. In my view the Arctic Council, with its flaws and imperfections, is a success.

The development of a comprehensive and binding Arctic cooperation has been a topic Arctic parliamentarians have been discussing for many years. Today, celebrating 20 years of successful cooperation we should ask ourselves: How can we continue to develop the Arctic cooperation to meet the future challenges and opportunities in the region?

Let me introduce you to three areas where I believe we can move ahead:

The Arctic cooperation should develop and strengthen its economic agenda, in cooperation with the business sector.

The Arctic Economic Council has been established and has set up a secretariat in Tromsø, Norway. From the Arctic parliamentarians’ side we have established good contacts with representatives of the Arctic Economic Council and its Chair Ms. Tara Sweeney, and we co-hosted the “Arctic Economic Development Forum” in Washington D.C. in the beginning of April 2016.

When developing closer ties between the governments and the business sector, we should look to what already is in place. I believe governments and businesses operating in the Arctic should use existing international CSR guidelines and find ways to implement them in the Arctic. Such instruments could be the “UN Global Impact Initiative”, and the “Arctic Investment Protocol” presented by the World Economic Forum in January this year.

In my view, CSR is fundamentally linked to the concept of sustainable development: businesses must integrate the economic, social and environmental impact in their operations. There should be a platform for dialogue between the business sector, governments and local residents. In the Arctic, the indigenous peoples will need to be one of the partners in this process.

The Arctic parliamentarians will continue the dialogue with the Arctic Council and representatives of the business sector to look into how we can work closer together to develop a business sector which benefits the people living in the Arctic, as well as the national economies.

The second aspect I will mention for you today, is how we can strengthen the voices of Arctic residents in the Arctic Council cooperation, both for non-indigenous people and indigenous peoples.

The last years we have seen an influx of new observers and observer applications in the Arctic Council, with many new nations joining as observers in 2013. The Arctic parliamentarians have been strongly in favor of including new observers, as long as they commit themselves to the criteria set by the Council, as we believe they can bring significant scientific, financial and other contributions to the Arctic Council.

However, the inclusion of new observers must not diminish the role of the indigenous peoples in their capacity as permanent participants in the Arctic Council. Nor must the organizations representing people living in the Arctic be sidelined In sum, the aim must be to include more voices from the people living in the Arctic, such as regional organizations, into the work of the Arctic Council to make sure that they can influence the direction of the Arctic cooperation.

My third and final point regards climate change. The consequences of the climate changes will, in the short version, hit the Arctic first and the rise in temperature will be double the global average.

The Paris agreement is of paramount importance. The member states and observer states in the Arctic Council, including the EU, represents more the 2/3 of the global CO2 emissions. I strongly believe that the Arctic Council should take a leading role in finding a way to reach the goals set in Paris.

Celebrating 20 years of successful cooperation, the Arctic parliamentarians aim to be a constructive partner in discussing how we can continue to develop a strong Arctic cooperation with the aim to promote peace and stability, and strong, prosperous Arctic societies.

Thank you for your attention.