Page 22 - AY2013_final_051213

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22
Preface
The Arctic House Rules
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland
When the first Assembly of the Arctic Circle, a new venue for international dialogue and
cooperation, gathers in Reykjavík, the Arctic Yearbook 2013 will reinforce the emerging global
relevance of the Arctic by highlighting issues and challenges which the arrival of new Arctic
partners, leading states in Asia and Europe, brings to the table.
Whereas the Arctic was for centuries mysterious and isolated, being throughout the Cold War one of
the most militarised regions of the world, towards the end of the 20
th
century it became an arena for
constructive and positive cooperation among the eight Arctic states. The early years of the 21
st
century are now making it the new global playing field where countries in Asia, as well as continental
European states, have arrived to advance their scientific, economic and political interests.
In May of this year the ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Kiruna confirmed this
transformation by expanding the number of observer states. From now on more than ten of the
largest economies in the world will be represented in one way or another at the Arctic table.
As we move forward with these new partners, and more wide-ranging issues come on the Arctic
agenda, it is of the utmost importance to maintain the essence and established qualities of Arctic
cooperation, which both the Arctic Council and a multitude of Arctic organisations, institutions and
associations have helped to develop.
Three of these are especially relevant: