How will indigenous peoples be in focus?#

“Indigenous peoples are an overarching theme in our chairmanship. We will, among other things, focus on young people, mental health and suicide prevention, but also on strengthening the economic situation of indigenous peoples. We think that is very important,” says Kenneth Høegh, Arctic Ambassador to Denmark.

Denmark takes over the baton from Norway, which in turn took over a stagnant Arctic Council from Russia in 2023. Høegh believes that the Norwegian presidency has been good at restarting cooperation between the countries.

I think the council looks very different now compared to two years ago, we are in a different place than we were then.

Greenland takes the lead#

Denmark and Greenland have been under great foreign policy pressure since US President Donald Trump expressed his desire to buy Greenland. All countries are members of the council – but Høegh believes that the cooperation is strong.

We are constantly working to reach consensus, we saw it most recently in our joint statement that was created in Tromsø a few weeks ago. It sends a strong signal that it is possible for the eight Arctic states to unite and have a common vision in their work.

Greenland’s Foreign Minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, has taken over as chairman of the council, and Høegh believes that Greenland will have a special role in the next two years.

Greenland will have the main leading political role during the chairmanship. This means, among other things, that the chairman is from Greenland, but represents the entire Kingdom.

Where do you hope the Arctic Council will be in two years?#

“I hope that we will have a holistic council that remains the most important forum for cooperation between the states in the Arctic together with the indigenous peoples.”

Source: SVT (in Swedish)