The Arctic Council convenes in Nuuk, Greenland

Press release 140/2011
6 May, 2011

The Seventh Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council will be held in Nuuk, Greenland, on 11-12 May. The theme of the meeting is the change of the Arctic region, and the challenges and opportunities this change presents to international cooperation.

The meeting will adopt the Nuuk Ministerial Declaration that will outline the Council operations for the next few years. In addition, an Arctic Search and Rescue (SAR) Agreement will be signed, and an instrument for prevention of oil accidents and oil destruction will be discussed. The meeting also aims to make decisions enhancing the status of the Arctic Council and adopt an information strategy for the Council.

Finland emphasises the importance of international cooperation and the central status of the Council in the Arctic region. Even in the future, Finnish Arctic expertise and research will be used extensively in the Council activities.

The Finnish meeting delegation will be chaired by Under-Secretary of State Jaakko Laajava. In addition to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs delegates, the delegation will have representatives from the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland.

The Arctic Council, established in 1996, is an international cooperation forum the members of which include Iceland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Russia, and the United States. Six organisations representing indigenous peoples of the Arctic region participate in the Council activities on a permanent basis. The key issues addressed by the Council include protection of the Arctic environment, sustainable development, and the status of indigenous peoples.

Additional information: Ambassador Hannu Halinen, tel. +358 40 178 2053, and First Secretary in administrative affairs Paula Laamanen, tel. +358 9 1605 5676