Foreign Minister Soini to Barents Euro-Arctic Council in Arkhangelsk

Press release 180/2017
17 October 2017

The 16th ministerial meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) will be organised in Arkhangelsk, Russia, on 18–19 October.

Finland's delegation to the meeting will be led by Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The county of Kainuu, which is chairing the Barents Regional Council from 2015 until the end of 2017, and the counties of Lapland, North Ostrobothnia and North Karelia will also be represented at the meeting.

Finland stresses that the Barents cooperation is a part of wider Arctic cooperation. In its own region, it plays an important role in, among other things, questions relating to the environment and climate change, such as mitigating black carbon emissions.

The meeting of this autumn will mark the end of Russia’s two-year Chairmanship of BEAC, after which the Chairmanship will pass on to Sweden. The meeting will consider developments in the Barents region and examine its future outlook, and a declaration dealing with BEAC’s work in the past few years and its future activities will be adopted.

BEAC was established 20 years ago. Its members include Finland, the other Nordic countries, Russia and the European Commission. Its goal is to promote stability and sustainable development in North Calotte and north-western regions of Russia.

Inquiries: Raili Lahnalampi, Chief of Cabinet, Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 50 550 7546.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format [email protected].