![\"Decision-makers](\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Nordic-Council-Reykjavik-2024-2048x1024-1-1024x512.jpg\")
The Nordic\u2019s five countries and three autonomous regions convened high-ranking decision-makers in Iceland on Sunday for the Nordic Council of Ministers\u2019 annual four-day meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The so-called \u2018ordinary session\u2019 convenes Nordic Council parliamentarians, state leaders and government ministers from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, the Faroe Islands, \u00c5land and Greenland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s theme is \u2018Peace and Security in the Arctic\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Arctic is acutely geopolitically sensitive; the countries with sovereign territory in the region, besides the five Nordic countries, are Canada, the US and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together they sit on another council \u2013 The Arctic Council, which operates the same rotating chairmanship principle as The Nordic Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However all official meetings of this body were paused in March 2022 with Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, when the seven other member states refused to convene under Russian chairmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2023, Norway took over the council, but project-level work is yet to resume in earnest. With Arctic Council meetings on hold, and Denmark due to take over its chairmanship in 2025, this year\u2019s Nordic Council meeting has become, by proxy, the most influential geopolitical forum for the region\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President of the Nordic Council Brynd\u00eds Haraldsd\u00f3ttir said of this year\u2019s session: \u201cI think it has never been more important that we gather within the Nordic family to talk about what characterizes us as a region, and how we can stand strong together in these uncertain times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War talks on the sidelines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNordic leaders are joined in Reykjav\u00edk by guest speakers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, and the leader of the democratic movement in Belarus Svjatlana Tsichano\u016dskaja, who will speak on the importance of Nordic support in the work for democracy in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nordic Council director Kristina H\u00e1foss underscored that \u201cstrong support\u201d for Ukraine is core to the Council\u2019s geopolitical position: \u201cThe work for democracy, the rule of law and human rights is an important part of the Nordic Council\u2019s international strategy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his visit to Iceland, Zelenskyj will also attend bilateral meetings with Nordic Prime Ministers and deliver a joint press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate on the Arctic agenda<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSecurity and defence has been a focal point in the Council\u2019s recent work, with Sweden\u2019s ascension to NATO, Moscow\u2019s rearmament of its Arctic territories, and NATO\u2019s large-scale cross-border military training<\/a> in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut under the banner of peace and stability, climate change will feature significantly this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur ambitions to counteract climate change, which affects the Arctic faster than most other places in the world, can also be closely linked with our work for peace and security,\u201d said Vice President of the Nordic Council Oddn\u00fd G. Har\u00f0ard\u00f3ttir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Security and defence has been a focal point in the Council\u2019s recent work, with Sweden\u2019s ascension to NATO, Moscow\u2019s rearmament of its Arctic territories, and NATO\u2019s large-scale cross-border military training<\/a> in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But under the banner of peace and stability, climate change will feature significantly this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur ambitions to counteract climate change, which affects the Arctic faster than most other places in the world, can also be closely linked with our work for peace and security,\u201d said Vice President of the Nordic Council Oddn\u00fd G. Har\u00f0ard\u00f3ttir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n