Following the first Arctic Science Ministerial in Washington 2016 (ASM1) and the second conference in Berlin 2018 (ASM2), the Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3) was held in Tokyo in May 2021 as a hybrid meeting. Science Ministers from 25 countries and representatives of Arctic indigenous organizations and international science organizations participated in the meeting. The conference, including the extensive preparations, was organized and coordinated jointly by Iceland and Japan.

Building on the results of ASM1 and ASM2, the third conference focused on the following overarching themes:

1.     Observe: Observing networks; Data sharing – towards implementation

2.     Understand: Enhance understanding and prediction capability on Arctic environmental and social systems and its global impact Verstehen

3.     Respond: Sustainable development; Evaluation of vulnerability and resilience; Application of knowledge

4.     Strengthen: Capacity building; Education; Networking; Resilience – prepare the next generation

The most important outcome of the conference was the Joint Statement of Ministers that was adopted at the meeting. The Statement describes the main foci of future international scientific cooperation in Arctic research.

A more detailed report describing the scientific contributions of the participating countries and organizations, similar to the ASM2 report, was published on the ASM3 website.

The German contributions were compiled by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, supported by the German Arctic Office.