Reindeer Blog » Arctic Council

Norwegian and Swedish Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Murmansk

KL — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:09:31 +0000

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will exploit Swedish leadership role in the EU and the Barents co-operation to get wider European interest in the North and the Arctic.

- From a Norwegian point of view, it is interesting that Sweden in a few month, have the Presidency of both EU and Barents Cooperation.

Wednesday he and Carl Bildt visited Kirkenes before they got on a bus to Murmansk. Sweden will during the Ministerial meeting of the Barents Council on Thursday take over the chairmanship for the Barents Cooperation after Russia.

In addition, Aleksei Miller, chair of Gazprom, noted that extensive efforts would be made to support social development in this remote corner of Russia, which is of interest given GAZPROMs activities in areas of reindeer husbandry.

Støre wants greater European involvement in the regional northern cooperation bodies, because Norway sees a holistic development of the North and the Arctic.

- Both Norway and Sweden are keen to get a better synergy of collaborative projects that go across borders in the north, as in the Arctic Council, the Barents Cooperation and the Baltic Sea Cooperation.

The Barents cooperation meeting coincides with the biggest business conference ever in Murmansk. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opens Murmansk Economic Forum together with André Arthur Tsjilingarov who became world famous when he planted the Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole.

Lavrov said in a statement before the forum that the Arctic is part of Russia.

- We are convinced that the Arctic in the future will be a region characterized by peace, stability and cooperation. This is all the Arctic countries’ profits, especially through the cooperation of key organizations such as the Arctic Council and Barents cooperation, “said Lavrov.

www.nrk.no/nyheter

WRH/ICR Presents at Arctic Council and more

Philip Burgess — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:23:31 +0000

Anders Oskal, World Reindeer Herders Assocation and Director of the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry made a brief presentation to the Senior Arctic Officials in Tromso today, as the SDWG gave a progress report to the SAO’s. All senior Arctic officials were present, including several new observers to the Council including China and Italy. In the morning, Anders Oskal took the opportunity to meet with State Secretary Liv Monica Bargem Stubholt to whom he presented an IP-IPY calender and a copy of Sophus Tromholdt’s book. In the afternoon, EALAT team member Dr. Monica Sundset gave Oskal, Burgess and WRH President Dmitry Khorolia a tour of the Arctic Institute for Arctic Biology at the University of Tromso.

Arctic Council SDWG endorsement for EALAT.

Philip Burgess — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:22:48 +0000

The Arctic Council SDWG endorsed the EALAT project as an offical Arctic Council project today in Tromso. ICR Director Anders Oskal introduced the audience to the information and outreach portions of the EALAT project with a presentation. World Reindeer Herders President Dmitry Khorolia also made a follow up presentation accompanied by a short ICR film made from the recent EALAT workshop in Nadym. Positive comments about the project were made by Sweden, Norway and Canada. ICC and AAC also welcomed a project that was so clearly an initiative of indigenous peoples themselves.

SDWG Update II

Philip Burgess — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:00:18 +0000

ICR Director made a statement to the SDWG yesterday, thanking Sweden for their efforts in organising a workshop in Umea, emphasised the challenges faced by reindeer husbandry as a result of climate change and globalisation and proposed to the floor that WRH organise a follow up workshop with a more circumpolar emphasis. You can read the statement here [SDWG041107]. Other national states welcomed Sweden’s efforts, as did the Sami Council and Norway also offered to host a future workshop. The Chair deferred decision as to who would host the workshop.

AC SDWG Meeting in Tromso

Philip Burgess — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:15:54 +0000

ICR and WRH are attending the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group in Tromso this week as Norway kicks off it’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council for the next two years. The AC secretariat is based in Tromso. At the end of the week, the Senior Arctic Officials meet and will be attended by WRH and ICR. For the SDWG Dimitry Khorolia is the WRH Head of Delegation. Juha Magga and Johan Mathis Turi will be joining the delegation during the week. ICR Director Anders Oskal, Elna Sara, Svein Mathiesen and Philip Burgess are also in attendence.