7:e Arctic Frontiers -konferensen i Tromsö den 20 januari

Ambassadör Maimo Henrikssons tal vid öppningen

It is a great honor and pleasure to be here with you at the opening of the seventh Arctic Frontiers Conference. It seems to me that Arctic Frontiers just keeps getting bigger and more interesting every year. I cannot think of a better place than Tromsø for this world class gathering of Arctic experts and policy makers. But should the need arise, I am sure that a number of cities in northern Finland would rush to host a similar event. Or contribute with additional Frontiers.

For such is the nature of cooperation in the High North: Når nøden er størst, er hjelpen nærmest – When the need is greatest, help is nearest. Perhaps not geographically, but certainly in the minds of Arctic peoples and hopefully in the thoughts of Arctic leaders. Formal state-level cooperation in the Barents Region is now twenty years old and will last for the foreseeable future if we keep this simple Norwegian saying in mind. In the time of need, help is and always should be near here in the High North.

Let me share with you some thoughts on regional cooperation in the North from a Finnish perspective. The Finnish Government is currently updating its Arctic strategy and the Arctic in general is high on the agenda. One proof of this was the state visit to Norway by Mr. Sauli Niinistö, President of the Republic, in October last year. President Niinistö visited Tromsø to underline the bilateral Arctic partnership with Norway that Finland wishes to strengthen. We already have a similar Arctic partnership with Russia.

Finland regards the Arctic Council as the primary cooperation forum on Arctic matters. Tomorrow we celebrate the official beginning of the Arctic Council’s permanent secretariat here in Tromsø, which I consider one of the crowning moments in the history of Arctic cooperation. A permanent secretariat makes the Arctic Council stronger. Finland is for a strong Arctic Council. That is why we also support the European Union’s application for permanent observer status in the Council. We hope that all Arctic nations would understand the EU’s supportive role in the Arctic. As a member nation of the EU Finland has offered the Arctic Centre in Rovaniemi as a seat for the long-planned EU’s Arctic Information Centre.

Another aspect of international Arctic cooperation I would like to highlight is the Northern Dimension (ND). The Northern Dimension is common policy between EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland and it is based on the ND Framework Document and Declaration which were jointly negotiated and endorsed at the ND Summit in 2006. Practical cooperation is implemented by ND Partnerships which have their own memberships and governing structures. In the long haul Finland has actively promoted the Northern Dimension as an aspect of regional cooperation in the North. And we will continue to do so.

Finland takes the Chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council from Norway in October this year. As chair after Norway, Finland will carry on most of the themes brought up during Swedish and Norwegian chairmanships. The need for sustainable development in the North and the challenges created by climate change have not disappeared. Like Norway, Finland will emphasize the strengthening of interplay and synergies between regional councils and the Northern Dimension. In addition to transport and logistics, youth and the environment will stay high on the agenda.

The Finnish chairmanship in BEAC partly coincides with our chairmanship in the Council of the Baltic Sea States. This lucky coincidence supports our aim of synergy strengthening, but also opens doors to other directions inside the framework of the Northern Dimension. Just think of BalticWatch and BarentsWatch, two initiatives already outlined in 2009 in the Stoltenberg Report. The monitoring and early warning system BarentsWatch was launched in May here in Tromsø, but I think there still are lessons to learn and good practices to share from the Baltic side. Finland and other Baltic Sea states can support BarentsWatch for example by sharing best national practices.

Infrastructure and logistics form the lifeline of the High North now and in the future. We all need quality infrastructure and logistical solutions of the highest standard to stand the test of harsh Arctic conditions. This is why we should cherish and further develop the Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics (NDPTL). The NDPTL is an excellent tool for making the most of our resources together. I wish that more Arctic stakeholders in Northern Norway would realize the potential of the partnership and the importance of its continued funding.

Let us think of just one of the key industry sectors in the North: the mineral industry. The minerals sector seems to grow and prosper in Fennoscandia and areas south of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. In Finland we have launched a special Green Mining Programme. The main objective of the Green Mining Programme is to make Finland a global leader of sustainable mineral industry by 2020. This objective is much easier to reach with the support of our neighbors Norway, Russia and Sweden. The joint Nordic mining initiative NordMin and Nordic Mining School strenghtened with local expertise from Russia are therefore key elements in our way towards a more sustainable future with CleanTech innovations and broader mining expertise in the North. As users of each other’s roads and educators of each other’s future labor force, we cannot neglect the cooperation potential in the mining industry or any industry with significant sway on our Arctic futures.

We Finns are sometimes a little slow to react and shy to communicate with our northern neighbors, but let me assure you that we’re working on that! We have noticed the growing need for engineers and geologists for example here in Northern Norway. In Tromsø’s continental counterparts, as I like to see the Finnish cities of Rovaniemi and Oulu, future generations of Arctic experts are educated. Across all sectors education, science and research will be the cornerstones of the Arctic future we share. And as we know, in frozen ground cornerstones must be strong and tightly bound together. The work done in universities and research groups across our northern borders is a solid foundation to build on.

Dear Arctic collaborators, we still have work to do. Let us raise our glasses to Arctic Frontiers 2013 and twenty years of regional cooperation in the North!