Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians
The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Chair of the Arctic Council, Ms. Lene Espersen, was attending a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians (SCPAR) on June 7th.
The meeting was taking place in the Norwegian Parliament, "Stortinget", and was attended also by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Jonas Gahr Støre, parliamentarians from all the 8 Arctic Countries, representatives of the indigenous peoples in the Arctic and several observers.
In her speech, the Minister talked about the Danish priorities during their chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Specifically, she mentioned cliamate change, the IPY legacy, biodiversity, integrated resource management, search and rescue and the living conditions for the peoples of the Arctic as the most important topics.
In the following question and answers session there were discussions on the University of the Arctic, the need for increased cooperation in education and research and the role of observers in the Arctic Council.