Arctic Ocean Highway German troops. After the war, Finland ceded the Petsamo area to the Soviet Union and Finland's access to the Arctic Ocean was lost. The Arctic Ocean Highway became a part of the new national road 4. Instead of Petsamo, it headed for Utsjoki and the Norwegian border by the western side of the Lake Inari. Arctic Ocean Highway Arctic Ocean Highway (, , ) was a 531 kilometre-long highway in Lapland, Finland connecting the town of Rovaniemi to the port of Liinakhamari by the Pechenga Bay of the Barents Sea. It was opened in 1931 as the first highway in
Arctic Circle (organization) National Press Club in Washington, Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson said that "the Arctic has suffered from a lack of global awareness and, as a result, a lack of effective governance. In the past, the region did not matter to the world's decision-makers and was largely forgotten. Now, with sea-ice levels at their lowest point in recorded history, the world is waking up to the challenges and opportunities the Arctic presents for its citizens as well as those who live in lower latitudes." Participants in the Arctic Circle since its inaugural Assembly in October 2013 have included institutional and governmental