“Norwegian settlement and economic activity also hold special value on Svalbard, which does not have military bases or permanent military presence,” the report states, which adds that “increased activity in the High North may lead to increased interest in economic exploitation on Svalbard.”

I am not sure whether the final sentence refers to Norwegian or international interests. The first points to Norwegians alone.

And it is precisely here that the existing business sector in Longyearbyen, which today has an annual turnover of about NOK 1 billion, does not recognize its own city.

The view is gone, but so is the economic horizon. Because how are we to secure a robust Norwegian population, when the national authorities announce that growth is to be slowed down?

Reduced activity

And with the same backdrop: How is Norway going to step into the breach for new business development on Svalbard, if the government aims to reduce the overall activity on Svalbard?

The Svalbad White Paper, scheduled for 2024, must provide good answers to this.

In sum, it is far from surprising that the defense commission spends a lot of its time analyzing the military strategic challenges in precisely the High North.

The other day, Denmark also announced, somewhat surprisingly, that their most important military strategic area is in the north. “First comes the Arctic and the Kingdom of Denmark, then the Baltic Sea and Denmark’s immediate areas,” said the Danish MoD Troels Lund Poulsen.

It is not just the view from Longyearbyen that has rapidly changed.

Back in Bodø, I cannot spot the familiar mountain formations where the sea ends either. Today, during my morning coffee, I looked straight into heavily armed, international warships on their way to new military exercises in the High North.