New Nordic partnership to strengthen food supply security
The Faroe Islands’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Fisheries, Bárður á Steig Nielsen, at the meeting in Tórshavn on 10 June.
The Nordic ministers responsible for fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture, food, and forestry have decided to establish a new Partnership for Nordic Food Supply Security under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The partnership will contribute to a more resilient food supply across the Nordic Region by promoting knowledge-sharing and co-ordination between the countries. The decision follows up on the Karlstad Declaration of 2024, in which the Nordic ministers agreed to strengthen co-operation on supply security.
Christian Rabjerg Madsen, Denmark’s Minister for Nature and Animal Welfare, says: “Robust emergency preparedness co-operation on food supply between the Nordic countries is a prudent and timely measure in an era of growing security and geopolitical uncertainty. Through this partnership, we are establishing an important complement to the initiatives already taking place within NATO and at the EU level.”
Bárður á Steig Nielsen, the Faroe Islands’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Fisheries, says: “At a time like this, Nordic co-operation on societal resilience – including food supply security – is more relevant than ever. That’s why it’s only natural that we strengthen Nordic co-operation in this area.”
Robust emergency preparedness co-operation on food supply between the Nordic countries is a prudent and timely measure in an era of growing security and geopolitical uncertainty.
Linking Nordic and international efforts
The initiative will bring Nordic co-operation closer together while filling a key regional gap between the EU and NATO. The partnership will consist of national experts with expertise in food supply and emergency preparedness. Its activities will take into account both shared challenges and national differences in supply chains and production systems.
“The Partnership for Nordic Food Supply Security represents an important step forwards in Nordic preparedness efforts. It’s an ambitious implementation of the Karlstad Declaration and demonstrates a clear political commitment to strengthening resilience,” says Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The first task of the partnership will be to develop a three-year work programme outlining concrete areas for co-operation. The ambition is for the partnership to become a permanent element in Nordic co-operation from 2028 onwards.
It’s an ambitious implementation of the Karlstad Declaration and demonstrates a clear political commitment to strengthening resilience.
About the Karlstad Declaration
The Karlstad Declaration was adopted by the Nordic ministers responsible for fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture, food, and forestry (MR-FJLS) on 19 June 2024. The declaration identifies a number of areas where deeper Nordic co-operation is considered essential for safeguarding the countries’ food supply.
The Nordic ministerial meeting held in Tórshavn on 10 June took place under the joint Danish–Faroese presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The agenda also included a forthcoming conference on food waste, a discussion of the recommendations in the new report on blue food systems, a decision to launch a project aimed at strengthening recruitment and skills within the blue-green sectors, including fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture and forestry, a discussion of the challenges facing coastal communities in the event of a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and co-operation on the One Health Declaration concerning antimicrobial resistance.
