News Releases

On 20-22 October 2015, the Arctic Council will convene in Anchorage, Alaska, for its first plenary meeting since the United States assumed the Chairmanship of the Council.  The meeting brings together the Arctic States, Permanent Participants (six organizations representing Arctic Indigenous peoples), Working Groups and Observers.

Video footage from the 9th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting, which took place in Iqaluit, Canada on 24 April 2015, is now available online...

Looking for photos from the Iqaluit Ministerial Meeting? Visit our Flickr gallery for high-resolution images available for use with Creative Commons licensing.

Ministers from eight Arctic states and leaders of Arctic Indigenous Peoples met today in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada...

April 24, 2015 – Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

The ninth Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council will take place in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada from April 24-25, 2015. This meeting will mark the end of Canada’s Arctic Council Chairmanship (2013-2015) and the start of the US Chairmanship (2015 – 2017).

Visit this article for links to documents from the Iqaluit 2015 Ministerial Meeting. 

March 5, 2015 - The Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials and Permanent Participant organizations, which represent indigenous peoples of the Arctic region, held their fourth and final meeting...

At the meeting of Senior Arctic Officials in Whitehorse, delegations will take a comprehensive look at the work of the Arctic Council in the lead up to the Iqaluit 2015 Ministerial meeting...

March 27, 2014 – The Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials held their second meeting under Canada’s Chairmanship in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on March 26-27, 2014. The theme for Canada’s Chairmanship is “Development for the People of the North.”

As the current Chair of the Arctic Council, Canada has the pleasure of making this statement on behalf of the Arctic Council States – Canada, Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States of America – and the six Arctic Council indigenous permanent participant organizations.

The Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials held their first meeting under Canada’s Arctic Council chairmanship in Whitehorse, Yukon, on October 21 to 23, 2013.

High resolution photos from the Whitehorse Senior Arctic Officials' and Permanent Participants' meeting held 21-23 October can be found in the Arctic Council Flickr gallery. These photos are available for use through the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons license. Please credit the Arctic Council Secretariat.

Patrick Borbey, chair of Senior Arctic Officials, will hold a media availability on October 23 on the results of the plenary meeting of the Senior Arctic Officials. Media representatives are also invited to attend a public outreach event held by the Arctic Council and its biodiversity working group, CAFF, in partnership with the Government of Yukon and the Yukon Science Institute.

During the Kiruna Ministerial Meeting 15 May Arctic Ministers signed the Kiruna Declaration, Vision for the Arctic, Senior Arctic Officials Report to Ministers, and an Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic. In addition, several scientific assessments and reports by the working groups, task forces, and expert groups of the Arctic Council were also approved.

Photos from the Ministerial Meeting 15 May are available for non-commercial use from the Arctic Council Secretariat Flickr account, as well as the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs photo archive. Credit must be given in order to use the photos.

Ministers from the eight Arctic states and representatives of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples met today in Kiruna at the conclusion of Sweden’s two-year Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

The winners of the Arctic Council Photography Contest will be displayed in Kiruna 14 and 15 May. During March the Arctic Council Secretariat invited enthusiastic hobby photographers who live, work or visit the Arctic to share their photos that illustrate all aspects of life in the different regions of the Arctic. The photos are also displayed 14 May in a slideshow on the Arctic Council homepage.

Media are invited to watch the press briefing with the Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, Ambassador Gustaf Lind, 6 May at 14.00 Stockholm time. Mr. Lind will highlight the main substance for the Kiruna meeting. The event will be web-streamed from the Swedish Government’s website. Note, the video will be broadcast live and recorded for later viewing. Media who are not able to participate in person are welcome to ask their questions via Twitter.

On 15 May 2013 the Arctic Council will hold its biennial Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna in the north of Sweden. Media are invited to a web cast press briefing with the Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials on 6 May.

14-15 May the Arctic Council will hold its biennial Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna in northern Sweden. Press accreditation for the meeting is now closed. It will also be possible to follow the meeting via webcast on the Arctic Council homepage. More details will be available soon.