The Storting’s High North dialogue with the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The heads of the Storting’s international delegations are meeting Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday 20th January for an exchange of information about political cooperation in the High North.
Eirik Sivertsen (Labour Party), head of the Storting’s Delegation for Arctic Parliamentary Cooperation, pictured here at a meeting in 2019. Photo: Storting
What impact will President Biden’s new administration have on the USA’s Arctic policy in the region in the time ahead? What can we do to promote Norwegian interests during the formulation of the EU’s new Arctic policy? These are among the questions which are currently on the agenda of the High North dialogue.
“The High North dialogue is a valuable arena for both the Storting and the Government to gain up-to-date information about Norwegian priorities and viewpoints on collaboration in the High North,” said Eirik Sivertsen (Labour Party), head of the Storting’s Delegation for Arctic Parliamentary Cooperation.
More dialogue between MPs and the Government
The High North dialogue was initiated in 2013, when the head of the Storting’s Delegation for Arctic Parliamentary Cooperation invited Espen Barth-Eide, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the Storting for an exchange of information and views on the High North. The initiative was a response to the Government’s wishes, set out in the 2011 white paper on the High North, for closer contact with MPs on developments in the region.
In the years since 2013, this dialogue has progressed into being a biannual forum between the Government and the Storting. Information is exchanged about relevant activities, meetings and trends within High North collaboration.
On the agenda of several international delegations
Arctic questions have become an increasingly common item on the agenda of many interparliamentary organizations. For this reason, the Arctic Delegation has invited the heads of the other international delegations in the Storting to take part in the dialogue. The Arctic Delegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs work in tandem to draw up the agenda.
When the Delegation for Arctic Parliamentary Cooperation was set up in 2009, one of its objectives was to raise knowledge and awareness about Arctic questions. The High North dialogue has become an important means of achieving this aim among Norwegian MPs, not least since it was extended to the heads of the other international delegations.