In August, it was announced that the US would appoint its first Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Region, a position for which Mike Sfraga has now been nominated.
Specifically, the position as the country’s Arctic coordinator has been lifted to an ambassador level to further promote American interests and cooperation with allies and partners in the Arctic region.
This move signalizes that the Arctic has finally climbed higher up on the American political agenda and is presumably connected to the US’ increased focus on security policy in the region, commented FNI researcher Andreas Østhagen to High North News.
Last fall, the US’ new national Arctic strategy was also announced and the US Department of Defense established a strategic unit for the Arctic region. Läs artikel