Norway: Siltanews – News Desk
“The Barents cooperation, as we knew it, has changed quite fundamentally into something else, but what is now emerging in the northern Nordic region is very promising and constructive, says Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide (Labor).
State secretaries of Norway, Finland, and Sweden have been mandated to start designing a new framework for northern Nordic cooperation. “We have a shared interest in finding a joint answer to this,” says the Norwegian Foreign Minister.
The Finnish government is currently developing a program to strengthen activity and security in northern Finland. One idea is to design a joint strategic agenda for the northern parts of Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
This is now in play between the countries, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide (Labor) told High North News at the recent Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø.
“I greatly appreciate this interest from Finland, and this is not only a Finnish idea. We have been discussing for quite a while now how we can strengthen northern Nordic cooperation,” Barth Eide points out.
He refers to processes already underway for closer interaction at the Cap of the North in and around the defense sector, but also within academia, such as the university alliance Arctic Six.
“Now, Finland and Sweden are NATO members. We are all investing heavily in defense. With their accession to the alliance, of course, comes the need for new transport corridors, such as roads and other infrastructure, and with that in turn comes new opportunities for jobs and value creation,” says the foreign minister.