The coming chair of the Arctic Council, Canada
The coming chair of the Arctic Council, Canada’s Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq, will visit Finland on 17 and 18 January.
Sweden will hand over the two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council to Canada in May 2013. Before Canada takes over the chairmanship, Minister Aglukkaq will visit all member states of the Arctic Council. Aglukkaq will arrive at Helsinki from Copenhagen on 17 January and continue her journey to Oslo and Tromsø on 18 January.
While in Finland, Minister Aglukkaq will meet President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. The topics of discussion will include the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council and the objectives for the term, Finland's Arctic policy, and the bilateral relations between Finland and Canada. In addition, Minister Aglukkaq will meet representatives of Finnish businesses.
Additional information: Katja Pehrman, Diplomatic Adviser to Foreign Minister Tuomioja, tel. +358 40 181 9257, and Minna-Mari Salminen, First Secretary, Unit for North America, tel. +358 40 132 1591