DLD Video
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.
Scott Minerd
Guggenheim Partners
Scott Minerd is a founding Managing Partner of Guggenheim Partners, and is a member of Guggenheim’s Executive Committee. He guides the firm’s investment strategies and leads its research on global macroeconomics. Previously, Scott Minerd was a Managing Director with Credit Suisse First Boston in charge of trading and risk management for the Fixed Income Credit Trading Group.
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Arctic Circle
From 1996 to 2016, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was the President of Iceland and elected five times in nationwide elections. He now serves as the Chairman of the Arctic Circle, which he founded in 2013 with various Arctic partners. Held in Iceland every October, the Arctic Circle Assembly has become the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic