External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that India has recently strengthened its Arctic involvement through a dedicated policy and international collaborations.
Speaking at the Arctic Circle India Forum 2025, the Minister, while asserting that India has been expanding engagement in Polar Regions, said that the country has been active in the Antarctic for over four decades.
“We have had a growing involvement with the Arctic. We had an even earlier involvement with the Antarctic, which is now more than 40 years. We have come up a few years ago with an Arctic policy. We have agreements with KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services) on Svalbard, which is relevant to our space,” Jaishankar said.
The KSAT Svalbard Ground Station (Svalsat) was established in 1997 and is recognised as the world’s largest polar ground station.
“As the country with the most young people on this planet, what happens in the Arctic is of extreme importance to us…Given the direction in which things are moving, the consequences are going to be felt not just by us but by the entire world,” he emphasised.
“Given the Arctic’s trajectory, its impact will be global, making it everyone’s concern. Warming is opening new routes, while technological and resource dimensions are set to reshape the global economy. For India, this matters deeply as our economic growth accelerates,” the Minister added.
Emphasising that the Arctic’s trajectory’s impact will be global, Jaishankar said: ”Warming is opening new routes, while technological and resource dimensions are set to reshape the global economy. For India, this matters deeply as our economic growth accelerates.”
Asserting that the Arctic’s future is closely tied to global developments, including shifting dynamics within the US political landscape, the Minister said: “Sharpening geopolitical divides have only heightened the Arctic’s global relevance. The Arctic’s future is inextricably linked to what is happening in the world, including the evolving debates within the US political system.”