Switzerland presents first Arctic strategy at Arctic Circle Assembly 2019

Switzerland has a long polar tradition, especially in the Arctic. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Swiss have been at the forefront of science. Numerous cooperations and participations in international projects bear witness to this. But the Confederation is also becoming increasingly involved in the Arctic on a political level. At the 2017 meeting of the Arctic Council States, Switzerland was admitted as an observer to the illustrious circle of Arctic and Near-Arctic States. Now, the Head of Sectional Foreign Policy of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Stefan Estermann, has presented the cornerstones of Switzerland’s future Arctic policy

On the last day of the annual Arctic Circle Assembly, first Scotland, represented by the Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse, and then Switzerland with Ambassador Stefan Estermann. While Scotland had already presented its strategy paper for a future Arctic policy a few weeks earlier. Arctic policy a few weeks earlier, Switzerland was able to shine with a surprise appearance. In his approximately 20-minute presentation Ambassador Estermann first highlighted the similarities between Switzerland and the Arctic and then presented Switzerland’s strengths as a partner for Arctic concerns. In doing so, he drew attention above all to the innovation strength and on Swiss participation in scientific projects such as the leadership at the working group climate of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC by Professor Thomas Stocker from the University of Bern or the research camp, which has been in existence for over 30 years. Swiss Camp in the heart of Greenland.

Switzerland’s policy on the Arctic comprises six cornerstones, presented by Ambassador Estermann: Supporting Swiss Arctic research and teaching institutions; Promoting international research collaborations; Supporting foundations and private sectors to promote polar research; Engaging in international dialogue about and with the Arctic; Promoting measures to address environmental challenges; and Showing solidarity with indigenous peoples and Arctic populations. Overall, the strategy of Switzerland’s Arctic policy does not boil down to political or economic goals, but primarily to strengthening Switzerland’s position as a research location in the Arctic. “The goal we have in our polar policy is first and foremost to provide a framework for our research community to showcase themselves even better. Researchers are very independent and our Arctic policy is driven by our research community, not by the government. And we can be very proud of that, because that is somewhat in line with the bottom-up policy that we have in Switzerland in many areas. We would therefore like Switzerland to be perceived more as a polar research location,” says Ambassador Estermann in a personal conversation with PolarJournal.

Politically, according to Ambassador Estermann, the most important thing for Switzerland is to be able to follow the dialogue of Arctic stakeholders, to follow and anticipate the direction of political developments. Also in the area of dealing with indigenous peoples of the Arctic, Swiss policy makers see above all the strengthening of respect in dealings by Swiss stakeholders. “We don’t want to realize things over the heads of the indigenous population, even in research projects. They should be noticed and involved,” the ambassador explains further. At the end of his presentation, Stefan Estermann referred to the GLACE expedition, the research cruise around Greenland, a Swiss project. This was officially stopped at short notice by the Danish authorities shortly before the start. Unofficially, there is speculation that Canadian and U.S. authorities had put pressure on Greenland and Denmark because the ships used in the expedition were Russian.

The announcement of Switzerland’s Arctic policy had been eagerly awaited. This is because Switzerland is the youngest member of the Arctic Council, the body that looks after Arctic interests. As an observer, Switzerland is only allowed to sit in the second row. But Switzerland is actively represented in 3 working groups of the Council, as Grégoire Hauser, representative of the FDFA, points out to PolarJournal. “We are represented in the working groups for environmental monitoring, nature conservation and sustainable development. Various experts from Switzerland are there to contribute with their expertise,” he says. And that is where Ambassador Estermann sees Switzerland’s strength as a non-Arctic country. Both in his presentation and in the conversation, he emphasizes the similarities between the two regions and calls Switzerland a “vertical Arctic state: “It’s great that we can build a bridge between our high alpine region, which is so important for Switzerland’s identity, and the Arctic. This way we can also show our population (and the rest of the world in the course of the presentation, editor’s note) that we are in the same boat. Because if our glaciers disappear, then an essential piece of Switzerland disappears, a central part of our self-image disappears. And I see how important the ice and the tundra are for the people there. And with that, you can raise awareness in people about climate change.”