“We have the Arctic states, the regions and the autonomous territories to govern the area. We also have the Arctic Council,” Ellemann pointed out.

The conference, organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers, brought together just over a hundred politicians, experts and civil servants. Arctic governance and natural resources were high on the agenda. Natural resources have become an increasingly hot topic as climate change makes oil, for example, more easily accessible.

Ellemann also reminded listeners of the Ilulissat Declaration agreed by the five Arctic coastal states (USA, Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway) in 2008.

“It is estimated that 97% of all resources in the Arctic Ocean are covered by that agreement. so there will be next to nothing left for others to share if further resources are discovered. In other words, there is not a lot left to disagree about,” she said.

Denmark plays a key role in the Arctic, currently holding the Presidency of both the Arctic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Russia representative to the Arctic Council, Anton Vasiliev, concurred.

“According to the Ilulissat Declaration there is no need for a new international and legal regime for the Arctic Ocean – the current system is sufficient to solve any problems that might arise,” Vasiliev added.

Sheila Riordon, a Candian member of the Arctic Council, brought up the issue of the oil slip in the Gulf of Mexico and stressed the importance of working together to avoid similar disasters in the sensitive Arctic environment.

Speakers at the conference also welcomed the work done on the Arctic within the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Secretary General Halldór Ásgrímsson reminded the audience that the Arctic is an important priority and that the Council of Ministers is involved on several levels, e.g. the Top-level Research Initiative, one of the biggest Nordic research projects ever. Eddy Hartog underlined on behalf of the European Commission that the EU and the Nordic Council of Ministers are involved in many similar Arctic projects and that synergies between the two organisations could easily be extended.

The Greenland Minister of Social Affairs, Malina Abelsen, stressed the social and human dimension in the Arctic – sometimes forgotten among all the talk of climate change and potential oil reserves.

”My most important job as member of the government is to remind the rest of the world that people live in the Arctic,” she said.

The event was a follow up to the Arctic conference hosted by the Nordic Council of Ministers in Greenland in autumn 2008.