UK launches updated Arctic Policy Framework, with security and stability among five priorities

The United Kingdom has launched an updated Arctic Policy Framework, with security and stability named as one of five priorities. Foreign Office minister Uma Kumaran presented it on 15 October, saying that “there’s no UK security or indeed global security without Arctic security.”

Kumaran said the update comes about three and a half years after the previous document, “Looking North”. She told the audience that the Arctic is being reshaped by climate change, growing strategic relevance and geopolitical competition, “as Russia continues its campaign of militarisation”, and by rising economic interest. In her words, the region is “more competitive and more contested than ever”, and a worsening security picture could challenge many of the rules that underpin its stability.

Five priorities

The framework lists five priorities: understanding and responding to a changing Arctic, enhancing security and stability, supporting effective governance, building responsible economic partnerships, and strengthening resilience. The minister said the UK would work with allies to keep the region secure and stable, and that delivery needs a coordinated approach across government. She said a Written Ministerial Statement on the framework would be laid in Parliament shortly after the event.

Science and partnership

Kumaran chose science and partnership as the two themes to stress. She cited the Natural Environment Research Council, which she said has invested more than £145 million in Arctic science since 2014. She announced an initial £13 million investment, alongside the Research Council of Norway, to study the changing Arctic Ocean, and more than £4 million over the next three years for new research partnerships, including with the Arctic Council and young Arctic researchers.

She also pointed to the research vessel Sir David Attenborough, which she said has been working with Greenland’s partners and others on the link between ice-sheet loss and warming Arctic waters. On the climate record, she said Arctic winter sea ice reached its lowest annual maximum in the 47-year record in March 2025, and that glaciers in Arctic Scandinavia and Svalbard lost more net ice between 2023 and 2024 than in any year on record.

On partnership, she described the Arctic Council as critical for convening growing global interest in the region and congratulated it on its 30th anniversary. She said the UK’s engagement relies on ties with Arctic states and Indigenous partners, and also with other Council observers and the European Union. The minister said she had attended the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik the previous week, which she said brought together more than 2,000 people from 60 countries.

Kumaran closed by describing the UK’s commitment as that of “a reliable neighbour, a partner in science and stewardship, and a steadfast ally in maintaining stability and security”. She also referred to the international polar year of 2032-33 as a reason for the research effort.

For earlier coverage of the region, see European leaders put security at centre of Arctic summit.