Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is a high-level forum between governments. It addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. The Council is formed of eight countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. All of these countries have sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle. There are also some observer states. 

The Council was formed in 1996 by the Ottawa Declaration. It is designed to encourage cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic states. The Council meets every six months for a Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) meeting. Senior Arctic Officials are representatives of the member states. Every two years a Ministerial Meeting is held. A "Declaration" is produced at this meeting. It sums up the past work of the Council and its future plans.

 Membership 
The Council is made up of member and observer states, as well as Indigenous "permanent participants" and observer organizations.

 States 

 Member states 
To be a member, a state must have territory in the Arctic. The member states are:

 Canada
 Denmark; representing Greenland
 Finland
 Iceland
 Norway
 Russia
 Sweden
 United States

 Observer states 
Observer status is open to non-Arctic states. They must be approved by the Council at the Ministerial Meetings. Observers have no voting rights in the Council. Currently, thirteen non-Arctic states have observer status.

Current observer states are (2019):

 Germany, 1998
 Netherlands, 1998
 Poland, 1998
 United Kingdom, 1998
 France, 2000
 Spain, 2006
 China, 2013
 India, 2013
 Italy, 2013
 Japan, 2013
 South Korea, 2013
 Singapore, 2013
 Switzerland, 2017

 References 

 Other websites 

 www.arctic-council.org – Arctic Council
 Arctic nations meet as tensions and temperatures run high (2021) Bangkok Post

Category:International organizations
Category:Arctic
Category:Politics of Canada
Category:Politics of Denmark
Category:Politics of Iceland
Category:Politics of Norway
Category:Foreign relations of Russia
Category:Politics of Sweden
Category:Foreign relations of the United States