Leading off the plenary sessions was former Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the guiding force behind the creation of the Arctic Circle conferences in 2013 as a ‘Track II’ mechanism designed to include a greater number of peoples and governments in dialogue about the Arctic as the region continued to open up, as a result of eroding ice. Other preeminent Icelandic politicians also gave speeches during the opening plenaries of the conference this year, including current President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson.
Among the other keynote speakers were Ms Ségolène Royal, former French Minister of Climate and the Environment and recently appointed Ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic, and Mr Aksel Johannesen, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, who also spoke on regional environmental changes in the region. The Faroes, it was announced, will be hosting an Arctic Circle event in May 2018 in Tórshavn. Vladimir Barbin, Russia’s Arctic Ambassador, discussed a four-point approach to his country’s vision for the region, namely the ability to optimize Arctic resources for sustainable development for Russia, advocating peace and cooperation, preserving Arctic ecosystems, and developing the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the face of growing international interest in the use of that waterway for faster maritime transit. Other Russian representatives discussed the country’s developing icebreaker construction projects, the challenges of maritime navigation in the Bering Strait and other Arctic waterways, and the development of Russian shipping concerns.
From Canada, Premier Bob McLeod of the Northwest Territories spoke about the ongoing reconciliation campaign between the Justin Trudeau government and Canadian indigenous persons as well as recent land settlements and negotiations in the Canadian North. He was critical, however, of the December 2016 decision by Ottawa to unilaterally declare a moratorium on Arctic oil and gas drilling, a decision opposed by the NWT and other northern territories as antithetical to regional economic development, and argued that this case proved that ‘colonialism is not entirely absent’ in the Canadian Arctic. The premier cautioned that there was still too much decision-making taking place outside of the region and sometimes outside Canada itself, regarding the Arctic.
Making a second appearance at the Arctic Circle was Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who reiterated her interest in bringing Scotland closer to the Arctic region, noting that the northernmost part of Scotland, (namely the Shetland Islands), was closer to the Arctic than it was to London. In the wake of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 and the more recent vote on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, (which Ms Sturgeon opposes), the Scottish government has been seeking closer alignment with the Nordic and Baltic regions, including governments within the Arctic.
The Arctic Council observer governments were also well represented this year, including panels and displays by Poland, a longstanding participant in the Council and in Arctic affairs. Representatives from the institution’s latest observer government, Switzerland, also hosted a panel on ongoing ice core and atmospheric research in the Arctic, including at the Zeppelin observatory station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.
As with recent Arctic Circle conferences, China was highly visible, with this year’s announcement that the Arctic was now officially part of the Belt and Road (yidai yilu 一带一路) Initiative (BRI), spearheaded by Chinese President Xi Jinping, dominating much of the country’s participation. Despite the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party taking place shortly after the Arctic Circle, several senior Chinese representatives spoke at the conference, including Lin Shanqing, Deputy Administrator of the country’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA).
Mr Lin stated [In Chinese] that China, as a near-Arctic state, sought new forms of information exchange and ‘win-win’ cooperation with both Arctic and non-Arctic actors, and he outlined Beijing’s emerging goals for the region. These include strengthening bilateral and multilateral Arctic cooperation, developing stronger Arctic scientific research, and improving regional capacity-building research, such as in the areas of climate change monitoring and data collection. This summer saw the completion of the eighth Arctic expedition completed by the icebreaker Xuelong (雪龙) or Snow Dragon, a voyage which included, for the first time, all three major shipping routes, (NSR, Northwest Passage and the Central Arctic Route).
The Arctic Ambassador from Japan, Mr Keiji Ide, and from South Korea, Mr Kim Young-jun, also spoke at the event about their governments’ ongoing interest in the Arctic and the need for regional cooperation. The three Northeast Asian governments have held two summits which specifically address joint Arctic policies and concerns, with a third such meeting scheduled to take place in China next year. Despite ongoing political differences between Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo, the Arctic is one area in which the three governments are largely on the same page regarding policy. The Government of Japan also hosted a reception during the Arctic Circle, complete with musical entertainment and sushi and sake.
The breakout panels at the event represented a wide range of interests and disciplines, and included business development, fishing, gender politics, green energy, indigenous affairs, military issues, sustainable development, tourism, and university cooperation. Although there were no major policy documents launched during this year’s event, the 2017 Arctic Yearbook, Change and Innovation, did make its debut at the conference, with a focus this year on regional knowledge-sharing, education and legal concerns.
Docked close to the Harpa conference facilities in Reykjavík’s harbour was the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica, which had the distinction of setting a new record in June of this year for earliest transit of Canada’s Northwest Passage during a voyage between Vancouver and Nuuk. Tours of the vessel, (and extra meeting rooms), were offered during the conference as well as discussions of the ship’s engineering. The arrival of the icebreaker further illustrated Finland’s roles as chair of the Arctic Council, a position it will retain until the baton is passed to Iceland in 2019.
[The author would like to thank Mingming Shi for her assistance with the researching for this post.]