Newsletter: Mixed Signals about Military Dialogue
The Arctic Council Ministerial meeting 2021 took place in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Photo: Screenshot).
For a non-military forum, it was all largely about security issues when Russia assumed chairmanship of the Arctic Council during the Ministerial Meeting on Iceland this week. Together with stockfish and the Green Shift; this is the week as seen from the High North.
When Russia on Thursday assumed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council for the next two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia wants to include military issues in the Council’s dialogue.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov receives the gavel from Icelands Foreign Minister, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson during the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland May 20, 2021. (Photo: Arctic Council)
Not surprisingly, his message overshadowed much of the true message from the foreign ministers of the other seven Arctic countries.
Because other things happened at their meetings too. For instance, the Arctic Council adopted its first-ever strategic plan. The strategy presents a framework for the Council’s work over the next decades.
Our Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm also noted Lavrov’s statement yet noted that the USA deserves attention too. Because after a failed attempt at torpedoing international cooperation in the High North, the USA is back on track in the Arctic Council.
Stockfish and minerals
This week, the High North Tour brought you greetings from a beautiful spring day at the remote island of Røst.
– Det er viktig at verdiskapning skal merkes lokalt. I nord er det reindriftsnæringen som blir spesielt utfordrende. Det eneste man kan gjøre er å samarbeide og finne løsninger sammen, sier Linda Haukland, fylkesråd for plan og næring i Nordland fylkeskommune (KrF). (Foto: NFK)
There, cod hanging to dry in order to become stockfish is an industry with centuries-old traditions. Right now, six million fish hang on special racks in the outdoors – some 12,000 kilos of fish per inhabitant on the island.
As for business, you can read that minerals and metals are crucial if we are to be able to reach the UN’s climate panel’s goal of reducing climate gas emissions by 40-50 percent by 2030. That is why Norway has to extract the minerals required for mobile phones, electric cars, windmills and batteries, argues Nordland County Councilor for Planning and Industry Linda Haukland.
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Kind regards,
Trine Jonassen,
News Editor, High North News