The High North is one of the Norwegian Government’s most important priorities for the years ahead. The Government’s overall objective is to create sustainable growth and development in the area through more extensive international cooperation on the use of natural resources, environmental management and research. A particular priority is to develop knowledge in and about the High North.
The Government launched a special strategy for its High North efforts on 1 December 2006. The strategy sets out how the Government intends to achieve its priorities for the High North, and is intended to ensure that the efforts are well-coordinated and that their impact is as great as possible.
There is growing interest in the High North as an arena of international cooperation. This is due particularly to developments in areas such as energy and the environment. The resource potential in the north, along with the highly-visible impacts of global climate change in the Arctic, have made the High North interesting for many different parties. Russia’s economic development, which is based on revenues from oil, gas and other resources, is also a significant factor, and is providing new opportunities for cooperation in the north.
The Government’s main political priorities in the High North strategy are:
• to exercise its authority in the High North in a credible, consistent and predictable way;
• to be at the forefront of international efforts to develop knowledge in and about the High North;
• to be the best steward of the environment and natural resources in the High North;
• to provide a suitable framework for further development of petroleum activities in the Barents Sea, and to seek to ensure that these activities boost competence in Norway in general and in North Norway in particular, and to foster local and regional business development;
• to ensure that the High North policy plays a role in safeguarding the livelihoods, traditions and cultures of indigenous peoples in the High North;
• to further develop people-to-people cooperation in the High North; and
• to strengthen cooperation with Russia.
The strategy sets out a broad range of measures that the Government intends to implement to achieve the main priorities. These measures include developing dialogue with Norway’s neighbours, partners and allies, business development initiatives, measures to promote economic cooperation between Norway and Russia, and an increased focus on education and research.
This last area has a particularly prominent place in both the strategy and the related implementation efforts. Knowledge is at the core of the strategy, which emphasises the key role of knowledge generation in achieving the Government’s aims, particularly in relation to resource management, the environment and climate change.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the High North strategy, and is cooperating closely with the other ministries in this respect.
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs