politics
Norwegian State Preparedness Hub in Kirkenes Underway
The hub will be named the Arctic Resilience Centre. A project manager has been appointed, and two new hires are underway.
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Last fall, the Norwegian government announced a strengthening of preparedness efforts and state presence in Eastern Finnmark, Northern Norway, by establishing an preparedness hub in Kirkenes.
The hub will contribute to increased coordination of various state sectors' work on civil resilience and civil-military cooperation in the High North. It will also facilitate stronger cooperation on total defense with Finland and Sweden.
The establishment is now well underway under the auspices of the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB), in cooperation with the County Governor of Troms and Finnmark.
The hub will be called Arctic Resilience Centre, said Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Bjørnar Skjæran (Labor) to HNN during the recent Kirkenes Conference.
Terje Meyer, former district chief of the Civil Defense in Eastern Finnmark, has been hired as project manager, and DSB and the county governor are now in the process of hiring one senior adviser each.
There may also be more hirings later in the year.
The establishment of the center is part of the government's High North Strategy and constitutes a measure in the development of a national preparedness action zone in Troms and Finnmark.
In the start-up phase, the center will prioritize tasks related to municipal emergency preparedness, competence development and coordination between total defense actors.
