Conference before the Nuuk Arctic Council Meeting in Stockholm. The New Arctic: Building Cooperation in the Face of Emerging Challenges
In May 2011 Sweden took over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. To mark this event the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) jointly organised a one-day conference on 28 April focused on identifying the emerging challenges in the new Arctic as well as on exploring how cooperative governance frameworks can be promoted to manage the new situation in the region, notably the Arctic Council.
The Conference, focused on the prospect of an opening of the Arctic, has raised a variety of important questions about the exploitation of natural resources, the delimitation of territory, the nature of security and political relations, the voice of indigenous peoples and the place of ‘outsider’ actors – such as China and the EU – in the development of the region. Finding ways to manage these emerging issues is a key challenge for the Arctic countries and the broader international community. 
The conference brought together leading diplomatic representatives, experts and political figures from the Arctic countries and beyond. For the EU ARCTIC FORUM Brussels, Steffen Weber presented the evolvement of an EU Arctic Policy and debated the role of the EU in the Arctic.
More information on the event may be found here:
http://www.ui.se/evenemang/the-new-arctic-building-cooperation-in-the-face-of-emerging-challenges
