{"id":42718,"date":"2025-05-05T19:23:53","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=42718"},"modified":"2025-05-05T19:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:54:08","slug":"india-growing-engagement-in-arctic-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-05-2025\/india-growing-engagement-in-arctic-region","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Growing Engagement in Arctic Region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus :GS 2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the Arctic Circle India Forum 2025, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar emphasized the<strong> global significance of the Arctic and India\u2019s growing involvement in the region.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arctic Region\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a vast, diverse region spanning <strong>24 time zones, eight countries, and three continents<\/strong>, with varying climatic conditions, development levels, and cultural landscapes.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It includes both ice-free areas, like parts of Norway and Northwest Russia, and ice-covered regions, such as Alaska and Canada.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was once a zone of scientific cooperation and environmental protection, and is becoming a site of military and geopolitical competition due to growing global interest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Arctic strategy\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It began with a scientific focus, and has evolved since the early 2020s to incorporate broader geopolitical considerations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has maintained a presence in the<strong> Arctic since 2008, <\/strong>with the establishment of the<strong> Himadri research station in Svalbard.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2022, it formalized its ambitions through the release of an <strong>Arctic Policy.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This shift was driven by changes in the global security environment, including deteriorating relations between Russia and the West and China&#8217;s growing Arctic cooperation with Russia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In<\/strong><strong>dia&#8217;s 2022 Arctic Policy focuses<\/strong> on climate science, environmental protection, and sustainable development, emphasizing the Arctic&#8217;s influence on South Asia&#8217;s water security and monsoon cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why is India interested in the Arctic?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s interests in the Arctic include supporting infrastructure development along the <strong>Northern Sea Route (NSR)<\/strong> to gain access to Arctic resources, such as gas and critical minerals, which are crucial for its growing economy.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India also seeks to<strong> secure Russia\u2019s commitment<\/strong> to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which could connect India with Russia and the Nordic-Baltic region, enhancing trade and providing an alternative to China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Suggestions and Way Forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s role in the Arctic is evolving as it navigates complex geopolitical dynamics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s involvement can strengthen its global positioning and improve relations with Nordic countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India should balance its Arctic interests with its position on Russia\u2019s ongoing war efforts in Europe.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India should strengthen ties with Europe, especially Nordic states, focusing on joint initiatives in infrastructure, digitalization, and environmental protection.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India should adopt a more strategic Arctic approach, focusing on engagement beyond science, strengthening ties with like-minded Arctic states, and seeking a role in emerging Arctic governance forums.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source:&nbsp; Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">At the Arctic Circle India Forum 2025, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar emphasized the global significance of the Arctic and India\u2019s growing involvement in the region.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Arctic Region\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It is a vast, diverse region spanning 24 time zones, eight countries, and three continents, with varying climatic conditions, development levels, and cultural landscapes.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It includes both ice-free areas, like parts of Norway and Northwest Russia, and ice-covered regions, such as Alaska and Canada.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-05-2025\/india-growing-engagement-in-arctic-region\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42718"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42731,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42718\/revisions\/42731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}