Dear Members of Parliament,

Dear friends of Arctic cooperation,

It’s an honour and a pleasure for me to open the 14^th Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region.

As President of the Storting, I would have liked to welcome you in beautiful and vibrant Tromsø, our largest city in the Norwegian Arctic. But the pandemic has forced us – like so many others – to hold our conference online this year.

That said, I’m convinced we will still be able to address many topics of great interest and importance to our Arctic cooperation.  

I believe that public health and the consequences of Covid-19; Arctic business development; and climate change in the Arctic are timely and relevant topics for this conference. These are key issues for those of us living in Arctic countries, but should also be of interest to those of you from non-Arctic states.

Yet I must admit that it was the last item on the agenda for today that sparked my interest and curiosity the most:  “The Arctic in 2050”. With panellists from different walks of Arctic life, I’m convinced this session will give us much food for thought. It will give us the chance to discuss our visions for the Arctic region for coming generations. Hopefully it will allow us to gaze a bit further into the future than the pressing day-to-day issues we have to deal with. With their varied backgrounds and expertise, the panellists will not only help us to understand our differences, but also our shared hopes and aspirations.

My immediate reflection, from a Norwegian point of view, is that the North needs to be a good and safe place for people to live. Close to 10 % of Norwegians live north of the Arctic Circle. As MPs, our primary responsibility is to work for them and their future. Young people moving away from the region is among our greatest challenges. To change this we need a better idea of where and how we want to move forward. When we agree, it will be easier to get there. We might disagree on the best path forward, but that’s where politics comes into play, and the spirit of constructive cooperation is required.

When we look at the circumpolar Arctic, most important, in my view, is to ensure continued peace and cooperation in the region. Since the early 90s, the Arctic has been an area of stability; a region marked by constructive, innovative international cooperation based on international law. A part of the world where there is strong focus on and agreement about the need for sustainable economic development.

I am pleased to state that there are currently no serious conflicts in the region. All Arctic states have clearly expressed that they will follow international law when settling disagreements, such as when dealing with overlapping claims on the Arctic continental shelf.  International law, most notably the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is a vital tool for a peaceful governing of the Arctic.

Most of all, however, it’s the eight Arctic states – with their governing rights and obligations – which are the greatest contributors to peace and cooperation. Keeping the Arctic a low tension area is a key element in all of their Arctic strategies. But peace, stability and cooperation can never be taken for granted. Rather, it’s a continuous joint effort, where we as parliamentarians must do our part.

Dear colleagues,

The best tool we have for Arctic cooperation is the Arctic Council. Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate the Council on its 25^th Anniversary. The spirit of collaboration, shared by all the Arctic states, has made it a success. The Arctic parliamentary cooperation was an active contributor to the establishment of the Arctic Council in 1996. Since then, we have enjoyed close ties. I am pleased that Minister Thordarson is with us to represent the Arctic Council Chairmanship in our conference, and that my own country’s  Minister of Foreign Affairs will join us later today.

Let me also pay tribute to the vital and continuous contributions made by the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. For more than 25 years they have identified concrete areas of cooperation. Their traditional knowledge has been a huge asset in finding answers and solutions to real problems. This has benefitted all the people of the Arctic, and served as a model for international cooperation between national governments and its indigenous peoples.

The number of observers to the cooperation has increased since it started in 1996. Non-Arctic states and different organisations have made essential contributions to the cooperation, not least through science. Polar science is a truly international effort, clearly demonstrated through the impressive MOSAiC polar science expedition in 2019 and 2020. I also warmly welcome the observers to this conference.

Dear delegates,

Promoting democracy and trust in democratic institutions is one of my priorities as President of the Storting. Here, children and young people are especially important. I believe in engaging young people in democracy. I want to help them understand democratic principles and democratic institutions. Direct contact and dialogue helps us to build trust in elected officials and the foundation for strong democratic governance in the future. This is why I spend so much time visiting schools and meeting young people in Norway.

And that is why I was so pleased that the work of the “Youth Panel” will be presented to you by two young representatives. The Youth Panel was set up to write an appendix to the government’s white paper on a new Norwegian Arctic strategy, to be debated in the Storting next week. The strategy was published in November last year along with the Youth Panel’s report. I’m very pleased to see that the model to include young people in policy development has already aroused international interest. We must include and involve more youth representatives in our work.

Dear colleagues,

The Arctic is a perfect example of national and international policies going hand in hand. The goals we have set in our national Arctic strategies can only be achieved through international and peaceful Arctic cooperation, keeping in mind the global aspirations we are to live up to.

In the next 25 years, a science-based Arctic cooperation must continue to deliver results for the people living in the Arctic. Yet there is also the potential and opportunity to tackle new challenges with new solutions. For this, we must have our visions in place!

I wish us all the best of luck for a successful conference.

Thank you for your attention.