Pan Arctic Forum

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US-Russian collaboration in the Arctic is concentrated on the environment, science as well as on issues facing the indigenous peoples there, Deputy Head of the Economic Section of the Russian Embassy to the United States Grigory Zasypkin told Sputnik.

“The Arctic is really now a depoliticized area, an island of peace and of constructive dialogue,” Zasypkin said. “The United States is chairing the Arctic Council, and forms the agenda for cooperation, so the focus is primarily on environment, science and indigenous peoples’ issues. These are now the main points of contact, as well as the topics discussed in the framework of the Arctic cooperation.”

World Policy Institute’s Arctic in Context initiative, directed by Senior Fellow Erica Dingman, co-hosted a conference at the Wilson Center examining the theme of the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council: “One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges, and Responsibilities.”

Ashley Chappo outlines the highlights of the two-day workshop, which featured perspectives from across this diverse region. During the conference, World Policy Journal also presented a live Twitter chat, asking a panel of experts to weigh in on the theme of “One Arctic” as it relates to Arctic nations and indigenous peoples. The conversation tackled questions crucial to understanding the role of Arctic nations, sub-national actors, and indigenous peoples in the region’s future.

by Margaret Williams

This week, President Obama will host the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden at the White House. Together with the US, these nations make up six of the world’s eight Arctic countries. They are also members of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental body through which Arctic nations collaborate on environmental protection and sustainable development. As the current chair of the Arctic Council, the US is ideally placed to lead international efforts to address the biggest challenges facing the region, and the US-Nordic gathering is an ideal opportunity to build on President Obama’s recent summit with Canada’s new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and bring added weight and urgency to several pressing Arctic issues.

By Ashley Chappo

Last week, the World Policy Institute’s Arctic in Context initiative co-hosted the One Arctic Workshop at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., in collaboration with Trent University and the University of Washington. The conference was unprecedented in that it was the first workshop to explore the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council from the perspective of the “One Arctic” agenda.

by Andreas Raspotnik and Adam Stępień

According to the Communication’s very first paragraph, a “safe, stable, sustainable and prosperous Arctic is important (…) for the European Union”, with the Union having a “strategic interest in playing a key role in the Arctic region”. Why is it so important for the EU that the Arctic region remains a “zone of peace, prosperity and constructive international cooperation”?