The North East Trade Route

The Arctic is melting, with dramatic consequences for polar wildlife and the Earth’s climate. On the other hand, new trade routes are opening up where the ice is receding. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former President of Iceland and Chairman of the Arctic Circle, explores the consequences of this development in conversation with Scott Minerd, Founding Managing Partner of Guggenheim Investments.

What was until recently a remote part of the world has now become a new economic and geopolitical frontier. “What is clear is that there is a new game that has started in the Arctic”, Grímsson says.

The panelists describe a global race that has ensued between nations such as the United States, Russia and China over access to the region and its resources. This includes rare metals and minerals that are crucial to the production of digital products.

“You cannot be a digital power in the 21st century unless you have access to Arctic resources”, Grímsson observed, adding that it was of utmost importance to establish a framework of standards through a joint effort of experts, indigenous people and other arctic players to handle this new development in a responsible way.