The Warsaw Format, i.e. the initiative of regular meetings between the foreign ministries of the Observer States at the Arctic Council and the country holding the Council’s presidency, was organised in Warsaw. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine this was the first of such meetings since 2019.

The talks covered Norway’s Chairship of the Arctic Council (2023-2025), the current cooperation on a number of projects in the Arctic, as well as the exchange of experiences on science diplomacy and its coordination with foreign policy. The Format’s meeting was also attended by representatives of the European Union, the Arctic Council Secretariat, the Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat, and by the Chairs of all of the Council’s working groups (via online link). Monika Szkarłat, Ph.D., of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin provided introductory remarks to the discussion on science diplomacy.

The Arctic Council is an international initiative established by the Ottawa Declaration in 1996. It provides a forum for cooperation among the Arctic States, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations and observers on issues related to the Arctic’s development and future. Poland has enjoyed observer status since 1998.

 

MFA Press Office

 

Photo: Barbara Milkowska/MFA