New York City – Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, hosted the Canada-Nordic Strategic Dialogue recently, in New York City and Iqaluit. In a rapidly changing Arctic marked by new challenges and increased strategic competition, deeper collaboration with like-minded Arctic states is needed.
Minister Joly hosted a working dinner with her counterparts from the Nordic states on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During the dinner, the participants discussed transatlantic security issues and exchanged on opportunities to deepen cooperation on shared strategic foreign policy priorities.
Then she traveled to Iqaluit, Nunavut, with foreign ministers and representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. During their visit, they met with P.J. Akeeagok, Premier of Nunavut, and members of the Cabinet of the Government of Nunavut to discuss evolving geopolitical dynamics and economic development priorities that have implications for how Canada, Nunavut and the Nordic countries approach the Arctic and the North, both individually and collectively.
The delegation also met with representatives of Inuit organizations to discuss their priorities and perspectives, on how to work together in support of a secure, prosperous and resilient Arctic and North, in partnership with the Indigenous Peoples and northerners who live there.
“Canada is an Arctic and northern nation, and this is at the heart of our identity. I look forward to hosting my colleagues in the beautiful city of Iqaluit and meeting with our northern partners to identify opportunities to deepen collaboration on our common objectives in the region. Canada and the Nordic countries are natural and strategic partners, friends and allies, bound by shared values, history and people-to-people ties. This Dialogue is an important step in reinforcing these bonds and strengthening the relationships between our countries.” – Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs