Helen Eduards and Mark Pritchard in Stockholm, 14 Oct. 2025STOCKHOLM, 16 October 2025 – In a two-day visit to Sweden this week, the Rt. Hon. Mark Pritchard (United Kingdom), who serves as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative for the Arctic and High North, met with a range of experts and policymakers to discuss security and environmental challenges in the region.
From 14-15 October, Special Representative Pritchard held in-depth discussions with representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Riksdag, research institutes, and members of the OSCE PA’s Swedish Delegation including Head of the Delegation Bjorn Soder. The visit provided an opportunity to enhance senior collaboration with leading stakeholders, exchange perspectives on Arctic developments, and integrate Arctic concerns into policymaking processes.
Talks focused on Arctic legislative developments in Sweden, the effects of climate change on society including indigenous communities, and environmental, economic and physical security in the Arctic region, as well as future challenges and opportunities. Sweden holds particular importance in the years ahead, Pritchard noted, as it becomes a new hub for European polar research, and will hold the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2027-2029.
“The Arctic region is undergoing rapid and far-reaching changes due to climate change, pollution, and growing security challenges due to geopolitical competition,” Special Representative Pritchard said. “These developments are already having visible impacts on human communities and if left unaddressed, they risk fundamentally altering Arctic living conditions and contributing to global instability.”
He stressed the importance of working with partners at all levels of society to promote security, including in the environmental dimension. “Organizations like the Stockholm Environment Institute, Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute – whom I had the pleasure of meeting with this week – are doing excellent work in tackling security, climate, environment and sustainable development challenges, promoting policies that put sustainability first.”
Mark Pritchard and Annika Markovic in Stockholm, 15 Oct. 2025In meetings with Swedish parliamentarians, he noted that especially in light of the geopolitical tensions in the Arctic following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden’s principled leadership and active role in Arctic co-operation is increasingly important.
Meetings were held with Åsa Lindgren, Deputy Director of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat; Helen Eduards, Ambassador for Arctic Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Jens Mattsson, Director-General of the Swedish Defence Research Agency; Karim Haggag, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and SIPRI’s expert researchers on the Arctic; Annika Markovic, Engagement and Impact Director at Stockholm Environment Institute; and Alexandra Anstrell, Member of Parliament, Chair of the Swedish Delegation to the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region.
The Special Representative's visit to Sweden marks his fourth trip to the Arctic region since becoming Special Representative on the Arctic and High North in 2022, offering a chance to strengthen high-level engagement with key stakeholders, and ensuring Arctic issues are more effectively reflected in policymaking and Assembly discussions.
For more information on the work of the Special Representative on the Arctic and High North, please click here.
