On 12 May 2025, the 14th meeting of the Arctic Council was held in a closed, virtual format.
Delegations from the eight Arctic States, six Permanent Participant organizations, Working Groups, and Observers attended the meeting.
The 14th meeting marked the conclusion of the Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council (2023-2025) and the beginning of the Kingdom of Denmark’s Chairship (2025-2027).
Following is the declaration as agreed by the eight Member States and the Six Permanent Participant Organizations
ROMSSA – TROMSØ STATEMENT 2025
On the occasion of the Fourteenth meeting of the Arctic Council
We, the representatives of the eight Arctic States and the six Permanent Participant Organizations of the Arctic Council, on the occasion of the conclusion of Norway’s second Chairship, at the Fourteenth meeting of the Arctic Council on 12 May 2025,
Reaffirming our commitment to maintaining peace, stability, and cooperation in the Arctic, acknowledging the role of the Arctic Council as the pre-eminent forum for circumpolar cooperation for nearly three decades, and committing to strengthening its capacity to capitalise on new opportunities and address growing challenges,
Emphasizing the Arctic Council’s role in addressing human, social and environmental issues with the prosperity and well-being of Arctic inhabitants at the center, and reiterating that the mandate of the Arctic Council is more relevant now than ever before,
Emphasizing the critical importance of circumpolar dialogue between all Arctic States and Permanent Participants, underscoring the continued relevance of the Arctic Council’s founding documents in guiding our collective work and engagement and, as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Arctic Council, reaffirming our collective ambition and responsibility to ensure that the Arctic Council is fully enabled to execute its mandate in a rapidly changing Arctic,
Recognizing the individual and collective rights of Arctic Indigenous Peoples, their vital role in the Arctic Council and their special relation to the Arctic,
Acknowledging that over the past 45 years the Arctic has warmed at a faster rate than the global average, noting that a wide array of ecological and environmental changes are underway, with increasing evidence that the Arctic environment is in a state of profound transition, recognizing that the changing Arctic environment is increasing its accessibility to varying degrees,
Noting and promoting the emerging opportunities for expanded sustainable economic activities that can benefit Arctic communities, and ensure a safe and prosperous future for the region,
Recognizing and commending the efforts of all the Arctic Council’s subsidiary bodies in resuming their work, and stressing the importance of implementing the Council’s Strategic Plan (2021- 2030),
Taking note of the Chairship initiatives during the Russian (2021-2023) and Norwegian (2023-2025) Chairships on themes such as sustainable economic development, digitalization of linguistic and cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples, youth engagement, and wildland fires,
HEREBY:
PEOPLE IN THE NORTH
1. Acknowledge the increasing impact of a changing Arctic on those who call the Arctic home, and recognize our responsibility to strengthen safety and health while promoting vibrant, sustainable, environmentally responsible, and prosperous communities,
2. Recognize the interconnected nature of human and animal health, commend the Council’s efforts to continue to elevate Indigenous Peoples’ participation and the perspectives of all Arctic inhabitants on public health, and emphasize the need to support long-term monitoring of all factors that impact human health and well-being,
3. Note with concern the mental health problems affecting many Arctic communities, including Indigenous Peoples and youth, and the challenge it poses to their well-being, and instruct Working Groups to implement cross-cutting work on health matters,
4. Acknowledge the fundamental importance of Indigenous cultural heritage in supporting sustainable practices and the vitality of Indigenous languages, including their role in Arctic communities, and emphasize the role of culture to improve mental health,
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
5. Emphasize the importance of sustainable economic development and job creation for Arctic communities, recognize the initiatives led by the people of the Arctic, including the role of Indigenous Peoples’ businesses and traditional livelihoods in these economies, commit to prioritize further work in this area, and reaffirm our commitment to upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples,
6. Reaffirm the Arctic Council’s enduring commitment to advancing prevention, preparedness and response to environmental emergencies, disasters and accidents, as well as search and rescue, and encourage continued joint exercises and projects that enhance risk mitigation and improve capacity and capabilities in the Arctic,
7. Stress the importance of Arctic communities’ access to reliable and affordable energy solutions, and urge the Senior Arctic Officials to increase efforts to advance innovative and effective solutions that take into account the uniqueness of Arctic communities,
8. Encourage economic activities that benefit Arctic communities, recognize our shared commitment to strengthen circumpolar collaboration on economic matters, seek opportunities to expand this cooperation including support for the Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) and its Social, Economic, and Cultural Expert Group, and instruct the Senior Arctic Officials to establish an informal group led by SDWG to identify new opportunities to enhance SDWG’s organizational structure to effectively address the growing challenges,
OCEANS
9. Recognize the importance of Arctic marine governance and the protection of the Arctic marine environment, commit to strengthening cooperation on marine resource management with full and effective participation of Permanent Participants, and reaffirm our commitment to promote and uphold the principle that decisions affecting the stewardship of the Arctic are made by the Arctic States,
10. Underline the Arctic Council’s efforts in promoting safe and sustainable shipping in the Arctic, and its contributions to mitigating risks, note the importance of the Arctic Council’s dissemination of trend analysis products derived from high-quality, reliable ship traffic data as well as the effective implementation of treaties, including the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Regions (i.e., Polar Code),
11. Urge the Arctic States to continue radioactivity monitoring ongoing since the 1990s, and further note the importance of advancing circumpolar cooperation for radiological and nuclear emergencies to protect Arctic communities,
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT
12. Recognize the Arctic Council’s role in enhancing and maintaining Arctic research and long-term monitoring of the Arctic environment, acknowledge the importance to continuously monitor biodiversity changes affecting the people living in the Arctic and their livelihoods, and reaffirm our commitment to undertake initiatives that provide reliable sources of information about Arctic species and ecosystems for informed policy-making,
13. Acknowledge that the changing Arctic will continue to increase health challenges, including risks to food security, water quality, and the spread of diseases, and recognize the need to address the effects of these changes based on scientific research and Indigenous Knowledge, including private sector innovation,
14. Highlight the Arctic Council’s efforts to promote effective waste and debris management in remote areas and communities, and recognize the importance of ongoing work in developing and sharing tools, information, and best practices for waste management,
15. Note with concern the increasing frequency, intensity, severity and duration of wildland fires in the Arctic and their environmental, economic and health impacts, particularly on remote Arctic communities, underline the need for enhanced collaboration among circumpolar firefighting networks, commit to continued subsidiary bodies’ work on wildland fire projects, and instruct the Senior Arctic Officials to establish an informal group tasked with developing a mandate for a possible cross-Arctic Council body that will support and enhance the Arctic Council’s ongoing work on wildland fires,
16. Recognize the significant decline of several salmon populations across the Arctic and its impacts on Arctic inhabitants, particularly Indigenous Peoples who depend on salmon for their culture, subsistence, and livelihoods, and emphasize the need for efforts to address both the drivers and the consequences of this decline,
A STRONGER ARCTIC COUNCIL
17. Reaffirm the importance of strengthening the capacity of Permanent Participants, encourage continued support for Permanent Participants to take a more prominent role both in the design and implementation of projects and in the work of the Arctic Council,
18. Acknowledge the important role the Arctic Council Secretariat and the Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat continue to play in supporting the work of the Council, and further instruct the Senior Arctic Officials to enable them to continue to successfully support the Council’s activities,
19. Decide to reestablish an informal group to assess Arctic Council project financing and the future of the Project Support Instrument, extend its operating mandate until the end of 2027, and instruct Senior Arctic Officials to report to Ministers in 2027,
20. Note with appreciation the ongoing efforts to engage youth in the work of the Arctic Council, and instruct the Senior Arctic Officials to explore ways to provide youth with meaningful opportunities for engagement across the Arctic Council,
21. Recognize the Observers’ valuable contributions to the Arctic Council’s work, instruct the Senior Arctic Officials to resume their review of the role of Observers, as outlined in the 2021 Reykjavik Declaration, note with appreciation the Observer activity reports submitted during the Russian and Norwegian Chairships (2021-2025), and instruct the Senior Arctic Officials to resume the biennial review of Observers,
22. Welcome the Arctic Council Working Groups 2025-2027 work plan document, offering continued opportunities to refine work plans throughout the next biennial period as necessary, and approve the Arctic Council Secretariat work plan and budgets for 2026-2027,
23. Acknowledge with appreciation Norway’s role in chairing the Arctic Council during the period 2023-2025 and accept with appreciation the Kingdom of Denmark’s offer to chair the Council for the period 2025-2027 and to host the fifteenth meeting of the Arctic Council in 2027.
Source: Arctic Council
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