On 6th December the NATO Defense College (NDC) was honoured to host H.E. Ambassador Carsten Søndergaard, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the North Atlantic Council, as guest speaker for a Lecture of Opportunity entitled “The Arctic – a new geopolitical centre of gravity”.
Ambassador Søndergaard was warmly welcomed by Lieutenant General Arne Bård Dalhaug, NDC Commandant. He was then thoroughly briefed on the NDC’s mission and activities by Colonel Jakob Henius, Senior National Representative of Denmark at the College and Chief of the Academic Programmes Branch.
Addressing his lecture to Senior Course 121 (SC 121), NDC Faculty and Staff, the Ambassador offered an exhaustive and up-to-date analysis of current strategic and economic interests in the Arctic region. With the rapid melting of the Arctic ice pack, extensive tracts of ocean which were formerly icebound are now accessible to shipping, to commercial fishing and to prospecting for energy resources as well as for minerals. A number of nations straddling the Arctic Circle or with a keen interest in newly-opened strategic opportunities in the area are thus pursuing discussions on questions such as national sovereignty over accessible islands, passages between continental platforms, and a possible re-examination of military capabilities in the Arctic. To date, interactions among the nations involved are managed without political strain or tensions – a scenario which Ambassador Søndergaard aptly sums up as a “high North, low tension”.
The ensuing Q&A session was wide-ranging and provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the topic in further detail. During the afternoon, the Ambassador held a special seminar with NDC Flag Officers and Faculty Advisers.
Lectures of Opportunity such as that by Ambassador Søndergaard are organized from time to time by the NDC: they offer a topical and authoritative perspective on subjects that are of great relevance and interest, not only to NDC Course Members but to the transatlantic community as a whole.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Eleonora Fuser, ITA C)
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