Alexander Stubb announced the idea to hold an Arctic Council Summit speaking to the participants at a NATO seminar in the Finnish Parliament on Thursday.
“I would propose organizing an Arctic Conference at the highest level. This Arctic summit would be first of its kind. It would gather all key stakeholders to take stock of emerging regional issues of paramount importance and with global consequences. A summit would also give new direction to the Arctic cooperation and become a milestone in the development of the Arctic Council,” Stubb told the participants at the Helsinki NATO-seminar.
Speaking about the Barents cooperation, Stubb said: “Developing the Barents region concerns not only the northern parts but also large areas in the neighboring countries. Key interests for Finland – based on our expertise - are forestry, Arctic shipping and mining industry, with related infrastructure development. Crucial for the prospects in the Barents region are improvements in transport, communications and logistical networks as well as facilitation of border crossings. To promote Finnish interests we – both the public sector and businesses - need to be more visible particularly in Murmansk.”
Read also: Finland: Arctic strategy with Barents Dimension
The Finnish Foreign Minister highlighted the cooperation between Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden several times in his speech. He also welcomed the agreement between Russia and Norway about the maritime delimitation in the Barents Sea.
“I welcome the initial agreement between the Russian Federation and Norway concerning their over 40-year-old dispute about the borderline of the Barents and the Arctic Ocean,” Stubb said.
Read the speech of Alexander Stubb here.
