“The challenges and opportunities that the Arctic represents will have huge global consequences. This will necessitate a respectful and adaptable management of the region, both now and in the years ahead,” says Sverre Myrli (Labour Party).

Myrli hosted the delegation in his capacity as Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Defence and Security Co-operation. The visit encompassed meetings in Oslo with, among others, Ine Marie Søreide, Norwegian Minister of Defence, and Thorvald Stoltenberg, a former eminent politician and diplomat. The delegation also travelled to Northern Norway, where they visited the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, the Coast Guard and the Norwegian Polar Institute. Nordic defence cooperation, Norway’s role on NATO’s northern flank, Norwegian High North policy and developments in the region were among the items under discussion.

“The point of travelling to the north was to increase the NATO member states’ understanding of the complex challenges facing Norway, not only regarding geography, nature and climate, but, not least, concerning our relations with Russia. We also wanted to show the advances we have made in Nordic defence cooperation and how this can complement collaboration with NATO and the EU,” Myrli added.

Frank Bakke-Jensen (Conservative), a member of the Norwegian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, was the other delegate from the Storting.