US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store |
Tromso: What used to be an outskirt is now becoming a new geopolitical centre of gravity in international politics. Driven by new access to energy resources and sea routes caused by climate change, the High North attracts increasing attention from new countries and players.
In the High North both the legal framework and the political cooperation are now in place to focus more on value creation that could bring benefits to the people living in the North. Yet, the Arctic environment is vulnerable and requires the highest environmental and safety standards for human activity.
In the High North we have front row seat to observing the alarming pace of climate change which has global consequences. In the High North we see the contours of a new oil and gas province evolving at the same time. And in the High North we see a set of new and innovative cooperation taking place.
Tromsø - as the Arctic knowledge capital – brings all these perspectives together and make it the only natural place for the US Secretary of State, Hillary R. Clinton, and Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, to meet and discuss High North issues during her visit to Norway. In Tromsø the permanent secretariat of the Arctic Council, of which both the US and Norway are permanent members, is also about to be established itself right there on the 70th latitude.