Arctic policy of Norway

Arctic Policy of Norway is Norway's foreign relations with other Arctic countries, and Norway's government policies on issues occurring within the geographic boundaries of "the Arctic" or related to the Arctic or its people. Since Norway is itself an Arctic nation, the Arctic Policy of Norway includes its domestic policies as regards the Norwegian Arctic region.

In Norway, development in the High North, including the Arctic, has been the government's highest foreign policy priority since 2005. The Norwegian Government's High North strategy was released December 1, 2006.[1]

On March 12, 2009 Norway released the report “New Building Blocks in the North” which identifies seven priority areas: 1) climate and the environment; 2) monitoring-emergency response-maritime safety in northern waters; 3) sustainable development of offshore petroleum and renewable marine resources; 4) onshore business development; 5) infrastructure; 6) sovereignty and cross-border cooperation; and 7) the culture and livelihoods of indigenous peoples.[2]

In the 2011 central government budget, a total of NOK 1.2 billion was set aside for initiatives in the High North, a significant portion of which was earmarked for research.[3]

On April 21, 2017, the Norwegian Government released an updated version of its High North Strategy: "Norway's Arctic Strategy - between geopolitics and social development". Its priority areas included "international cooperation, business development, knowledge development, infrastructure, [and] environmental protection and emergency preparedness".[4]