At the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting on 5-6 May 2019, Iceland will take over the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from Finland. Iceland´s Preliminary Chairmanship Program “Together Towards a Sustainable Arctic” was presented at the Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials meeting in Rovaniemi on 1-2 November 2018.

The overarching theme of the Chairmanship Program is sustainable development and the priority areas include:

• Arctic Marine Environment
• Climate and Green Energy Solutions
• People in the Arctic
• Stronger Arctic Council

In cooperation with the Icelandic and Finnish Embassies in Berlin and with the Federal Foreign Office, the Arctic Office is planning a symposium to introduce the Icelandic Chairmanship Program to German stakeholders. The symposium will be held in the Nordic Embassies in Berlin early June 2019.