With more than a thousand participants from 31 countries, this year’s Arctic Frontiers conference in the northern Norwegian city of Tromsø set another record when it opened this week. This year’s theme is “Humans in the Arctic,” and how the area’s resources should best be exploited.
The resources, from seafood to minerals and oil and gas, must be extracted responsibly, in cooperation with Arctic countries and with respect for those people living in the far north, delegates agreed on Monday. That was the message in unison when the conference was opened by Aili Keskitalo, president of the Sami Parliament (Sametinget) in Karasjok.
She wore her colourful native Sami dress and spoke before the podium was turned over to politicians from seven countries with Arctic territory. They all, including Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, made similar statements about how the Arctic is peaceful where cooperation and respect are hallmarks.
newsinenglish.no staff
