Barents Council intensifies environmental efforts

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre chaired a meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council Harstad on 9 and 10 November. This was the tenth session of the Council since the Barents Cooperation was established in 1993.

For the first time, the Council adopted measures to follow up the scientific report on climate change in the Barents Region and the recommendations submitted by the Arctic Council in November last year. The Barents Council has also decided to step up efforts to solve concrete environmental problems in northwestern Russia.

The economic cooperation will be further developed through the Barents Industrial Partnership, particularly in the forestry sector, the mineral/metallurgy sector and the petroleum supply industry. The aim is better coordination and more effective use of existing national and international financing schemes.

The Barents Council will continue its efforts to establish an international secretariat in cooperation with the Regional Council, which is made up of representatives of the counties in the Barents Region.

The meeting marked the end of Norway’s two-year chairmanship of the Barents Council. Finland will now chair the Council until 2007.

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Click here for the complete text of the joint communiqué of the session.

http://www.beac.st/_upl/doc/11745_doc_Final%20BEAC%20communique%20101105.doc