Norwegian monarch visits polar Svalbard as interest in Arctic grows
Focus on the Arctic's strategic importance for mining, shipping and security has increased sharply because of repeated statements by U.S. President Donald Trump that he wants to take over Greenland.
The Arctic also holds fossil fuels and minerals beneath the land and the seabed and is an area of military and economic competition.
The royal visit comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland in a show of European solidarity.
Svalbard - which officially became part of Norway in 1925 - lies roughly midway between the North Pole and the European mainland. King Harald's visit is to mark a century of Norwegian sovereignty.
It is governed under a 1920 treaty which also allows citizens of signatory states to settle there without a visa.
The Svalbard treaty restricts military use of the archipelago, but the islands are not a demilitarised zone. Russia has in the past accused Norway of militarising Svalbard, which Oslo denies.
Norway is NATO's monitor for the vast 2 million square km (772,204 square miles) area of the North Atlantic, which includes the waters between Svalbard and the European mainland, used by the Russian northern fleet's nuclear submarines.
Svalbard has two Russian settlements, Barentsburg and Pyramiden, with 297 residents currently out of a total population of 2,863, according to Statistics Norway.
China, which calls itself a "near-Arctic" state, wants to create a "Polar Silk Road", an alternative shipping route to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Malacca.
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Last month, the Prime Minister and French president agreed a plan to send back small boats migrants, with an asylum seeker being sent to the UK in exchange in equal numbers. Under the pilot scheme, adults arriving on a small boat can be detained and returned to France for the first time. The trial is set to run until June 11 2026, pending a longer-term agreement or cancellation by either the UK or France with one months' notice. Asylum seekers accepted to come to the UK under the deal would travel via a safe, legal route, 'subject to strict security checks'. Those in France could express an interest to apply for asylum to the UK through an online platform developed by the Home Office, and would then carry out the standard visa application process and checks. Priority will be given to people from countries where they are most likely to be granted asylum as genuine refugees, who are most likely to be exploited by smuggling gangs, and also asylum seekers who have connections to the UK. Borders are being breached by criminal gangs worldwide. Life-threatening Channel crossings have occurred for years – it is time to act. Border Security Command is how we fight back. — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) March 4, 2025 If accepted, they would be given three months in the UK to claim asylum or apply for a visa, and would be subject to the same rules for all asylum seekers not allowed to work, study or have access to benefits. Their claim could still be rejected during their time in the UK, and they could then be removed from the country. It is not clear what the criteria will be for deciding which migrants who arrive in the UK by small boat will be sent back to France, other than being aged over 18. New arrivals will be screened at Manston processing centre, in Kent, which is current procedure, before individuals determined to be suitable for the pilot and for detention, will be picked and held in an immigration removal centre. Their removal is expected to be made on the grounds of inadmissibility, that they have arrived from the UK from a safe country where their case can be heard instead, because an agreement is in place with France. The treaty confirms the migrants would be returned back to France by plane, and commits for a return to be completed within three months in all cases. It also agrees for a joint committee to be set up to monitor the agreement and arrange logistics. Migrants will be able to appeal against the decision based on exceptional circumstances. The Home Office said it had learned from the 'lengthy legal challenges' over the previous government's Rwanda scheme and would 'robustly defend' any attempts to block removal through the courts. – How many people will be part of the pilot and much will it cost? No official number of migrants has been confirmed to take part in the pilot, but it is understood numbers will grow over the pilot period and depend on operational factors. The Home Secretary has said the Government does not want to put a number on the amount as she believes it could aid criminal gangs. It has been reported that about 50 a week could be sent to France. This would be a stark contrast to the more than 800 people every week who on average have arrived in the UK via small boat this year. There is no funding to France associated with this agreement, and operations around the returns and arrivals will be paid for from the existing Home Office budget. – What has the reaction been to the deal? Opposition politicians were scathing about the Prime Minister's deal with Mr Macron, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp claiming the small percentage of arrivals to be removed would 'make no difference whatsoever'. On Tuesday, he added: 'This deal is unworkable and wide open to abuse.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also branded it a 'humiliation'. Meanwhile refugee charities have also criticised the plan and have urged the Government to provide more safe, legal routes for asylum seekers instead. Reacting to the plan coming into force, Amnesty International UK's refugee rights director, Steve Valdez-Symonds, said: 'Once again, refugees are treated like parcels, not people, while the public is left to pay the price for, yet another cruel, costly failure dressed up as policy.'
