U.S. Senate delegation heads to Isfjord Radio, Svalbard
An all-female delegation of U.S. senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties will arrive in Svalbard on Saturday for a diplomatic visit aimed at strengthening ties with Arctic allies.
The group consists of eight senators, accompanied by staff and military liaison officers, is undertaking a circumpolar tour of the four Arctic nations of Canada, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland and Norway.
“We will reassure our allies that we recognise and appreciate the importance of our allies and partners in the Arctic, as in so many other areas,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen told the Associated Press ahead of the delegation’s departure on Friday.
Shaheen is leading the delegation alongside Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
She added that the group would discuss “what more we can do as members of Congress to support those relationships.”
During their stay in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago, the delegation is scheduled to visit Isfjord Radio on Sunday, according to local newspaper Svalbardposten. The remote outpost, located on the coast of the Greenland Sea, will host presentations by researchers from UiT The Arctic University of Norway on Arctic climate and nature.
The senators will also visit the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) to learn more about the dramatic impact climate change is having on the Svalbard archipelago.
Arctic security
Senators Murkowski and Shaheen have previously worked together on legislation aimed at preventing the United States from attacking any fellow NATO member, including Denmark.
The Svalbard visit comes a day after the seven NATO member states in the Arctic adopted a joint statement recognising the need for greater co-operation to ensure the Arctic remains a secure and prosperous region.
“The Arctic is quickly becoming a sphere of increasing geopolitical and strategic importance. With Russia’s increased military activity and China’s growing strategic interest, we seek to bolster stability in the Arctic region,” the statement said.
It also highlighted the need to strengthen NATO’s military presence, surveillance capabilities and joint training exercises in the Arctic.
Dag Rune Olsen, Rector of UiT The Arctic University of Norway, told Svalbardposten that an important reason for inviting the senators to the world’s northernmost university centre was to highlight the importance of international collaboration in climate research.
“There has been uncertainty about the extent to which American researchers can secure funding for climate research. At the same time, American attention towards the Arctic has increased. This concerns climate and the environment, but also energy and geopolitics. Knowledge of the Arctic is important, and Arctic policy is founded on research-based insight,” Olsen told the newspaper.
This is the second time Senator Lisa Murkowski has led a delegation of U.S. politicians to Svalbard.
Following a previous visit in 2019, she said:
“One of my top priorities in the Senate is to raise awareness of the Arctic and ensure the people who live in the region are not an afterthought in policy decisions. This trip was a valuable opportunity for my colleagues to experience first-hand what the Arctic is all about.”
The delegation arriving at Longyearbyen Airport on Saturday is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Republican senators Cindy Hyde-Smith, Katie Britt and Cynthia Lummis are joined by Democratic senators Maggie Hassan, Kirsten Gillibrand and Catherine Cortez Masto.
