Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to defend UK interests in the Arctic and High North regions.

The Government is actively promoting the UK's interests in the Arctic and High North. in my recent visit to Norway and Iceland, including to the Arctic Circle Assembly, I set out the Government's commitment to a secure, stable, and sustainable region that protects our longstanding and enduring interests, guided by the UK's Arctic Policy Framework. I also met with representatives of Arctic States and Indigenous People to discuss shared challenges and opportunities to deepen collaboration. I have established a cross-Government Ministerial Group on the Polar Regions to help co-ordinate and deliver UK policy. I regularly engage with counterparts from across the Arctic region to discuss our shared commitments on security, defence, science, climate change and nature.