High-level officials from the world's eight Arctic nations will meet in Alaska amid concerns about the future of the sensitive region after President Donald Trump called for more oil drilling and development.
Among those expected to attend the meeting of the Arctic Council beginning Thursday in Fairbanks are US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who met yesterday with Trump and Tillerson in Washington.
No formal discussions were set in Alaska on key issues such as climate change, development and drilling. But those issues will provide a backdrop as the chairmanship of the council passes from the US to Finland.
"We are unsure what the Trump administration thinks about the Arctic region in general, about the Arctic Council in particular and about its role," said Victoria Herrmann, president of The Arctic Institute, a Washington, DC-based group that provides research to shape Arctic policy.
The Arctic Council is an advisory body that promotes cooperation among member nations and indigenous groups. Its focus is sustainable development and environmental protection of the Arctic.
It does not make policy or allocate resources, and its decisions must be unanimous.
"In terms of being a reflection of a nation's priorities, it can only go so far since all eight have to agree to the same thing," said Nils Andreassen, executive director of the Anchorage-based Institute of the North, a non-partisan organization focused on Arctic resources.
The United States an Arctic country because of the state of Alaska - is joined on the council by Canada, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The US began chairing the council two years ago. Much of the council's work during that time stemmed from the policies of President Barack Obama, who made climate change and the Arctic priorities of his administration.
Obama became the first sitting president to travel above the Arctic Circle when he went to the largely Inupiat community of Kotzebue.
The US highlighted three areas during its two-year chairmanship improved living conditions and economies for those living in the Arctic, stewardship of the Arctic Ocean and climate change.
David Balton, a deputy assistant secretary of State, said other accomplishments included an agreement for scientific cooperation among Arctic nations, an assessment of improvements needed for better telecommunications, and implementation of a database of ships passing through the Arctic.
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