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Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks at Arctic Frontiers conference on 4 February 2021

Publication date 5.2.2021 9.43
Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks at Arctic Frontiers conference on 4 February 2021

On 4 February, Prime Minister Sanna Marin attended the Arctic Frontiers conference, which took place remotely this year. Arctic Frontiers is an international conference held annually in Tromsø, bringing together representatives from politics, business and research.

On 4 February, Prime Minister Sanna Marin attended the Arctic Frontiers conference, which took place remotely this year. Arctic Frontiers is an international conference held annually in Tromsø, bringing together representatives from politics, business and research. Also in attendance were Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir. 

In her speech, Prime Minister Marin emphasised the importance of international Arctic cooperation. The greatest threat facing the Arctic region is climate change, and its mitigation must also be the focus of multilateral work. The Prime Minister noted that all members of the Arctic Council are now committed to the Paris Agreement on climate change. This opens up further opportunities for Arctic cooperation, which is currently being promoted by the Icelandic Arctic Council Chairmanship and will continue to be a priority for Russia’s Chairmanship beginning in the spring. At the same time, our response to climate change gives us an opportunity to support sustainable development and the green economy, along with innovations that benefit local populations, the Prime Minister pointed out. 

As outlined in the recent Government Report on Foreign and Security Policy, Finland wants to promote stability in the Arctic region and ensure that it remains an area of low tension. Strengthening the Arctic Council is at the heart of Finland’s Arctic policy. 

In her speech, Prime Minister Marin also highlighted the need to develop the EU’s Arctic policy. The previous section of the conference on Tuesday featured an address by EU High Representative Josep Borrell. The conference was attended by many other high-level representatives from a wide range of geographical areas.

Prime Minister Marin also touched on Finland’s Arctic policy strategy, which will be published in the first part of this year. The strategy focuses on climate change, inhabitants (promotion of welfare and the rights of indigenous peoples), expertise (livelihoods and leading-edge research), and infrastructure and logistics. The strategy will be completed in the spring following a broad public consultation.

Inquiries: Lauri Voionmaa, Special Adviser (international affairs), Prime Minister’s Office, tel. 0295 160 306 and Nina Brander, Senior Specialist, Secretary General of the Arctic Advisory Council, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 40 823 84 92.