Nordic security conference “The Arctic – What’s at stake?”

Mar 9, 2021 | Events

The Nordic embassies and Nordic Council of Ministers in Vilnius together with Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) and Lithuanian think-tank the Eastern Europe Studies Centre invites you to the virtual Nordic security conference “The Arctic – what’s at stake?” on 19 March 2021.

The event will take place from 10:00 to 13:00 (UTC +2).

The conference will be live-streamed on the Eastern Europe Studies Centre Facebook page.

The objective of the conference is to present to a Lithuanian audience the different important issues that are at stake in general, for the European Union and for the Nordic countries in the Arctic region in particular. These are issues that might also be of growing importance to Lithuania and the other Baltic states. This includes both hard and soft security (search and rescue) questions, as well as issues related to the vulnerable environment and climate (including black carbon emissions), resource management (including fisheries and energy), new transportation routes, economic development, and social issues (of especially the indigenous people) and possible competition/cooperation with NATO countries, Russia and China.

Programme of the event:

10:00 // Opening of the conference.
• Arnoldas Pranckevičius, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania
• Michael Mann, European Union Special Envoy for Arctic Matters, European External Action Service.

10:15 // First panel: “Stronger Together: Cooperation in Pursuit of Green Politics and Sustainable Economy in the Arctic Region”

The panel will focus on the current situation in the region, possible wider cooperation in the context of the European Union, issues related to the vulnerable environment and climate, resource management, new transportation routes, economic development, and social issues.

• Tómas Orri Ragnarsson, Senior Adviser, Secretariat for the Arctic Expert Committee, Nordic Council of Ministers
• Louise Calais, Ambassador for Arctic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden
• Rune Jensen, Coordinator – White Paper on the Arctic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway
• Viktorija Rusinaitė, Senior Analyst at Hybrid CoE, an associated analyst at Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis

Moderator: Dr Margarita Šešelgytė, Director of the Institute of the International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University

11:30 // Break

11:45 // Second panel: “Between East and West: Competition and Cooperation in the Arctic Region”

The panel will focus on the future of the region, possible cooperation, and competition between EU and NATO countries, Russia, and China. How to find a balance between competition, different interests and possible opportunities to cooperate? What are the main security challenges?

• Matti Anttonen, Permanent State Secretary, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
• Thomas Winkler, Ambassador for Arctic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
• Saulius Gasiūnas, Director of the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Department, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania
• Friðrik Jónsson, Iceland‘s Senior Arctic Official to the Arctic Council

Moderator: Prof. Mindaugas Jurkynas, Head of the Department of Political science, Vytautas Magnus University, Jean Monnet Chair

The event is organised by:
Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark to the Republic of Lithuania,
Embassy of the Republic of Finland to the Republic of Lithuania,
Embassy of Iceland to the Republic of Lithuania,
Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Lithuania,
Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Lithuania,
Nordic Council of Minister Office in Lithuania,

Eastern Europe Studies Centre,

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU).