5 Nordic embassies eye collaboration with Canada, the North

For representatives from five Nordic countries, Canada is a “priority” for diplomatic relations. And within that priority is engagement in the North.

Representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland — also known as the Nordic Five, or N5 — were in Iqaluit last week to take part in the Nunavut Trade Show and Conference, and to meet with organizations in the community.

As part of the Nordic Five, these countries co-operate on foreign security policies within the Nordic Region.

“We want to try and engage with as many actors in the North,” said Jacob Bay Lindkvist, the Danish embassy’s deputy head of mission, in an interview.

“We also do joint trips to other parts of Canada and other provinces, other territories, but this trip specifically we’re focusing on reaching out to Inuit organizations and to the local government here.”

To be considered a “priority” country jointly by the five Nordic nations is a unique designation, Lindkvist said. The only other two priority countries on the list are the United States and Germany.

NATO membership and a sense of “similar social values” bring Canada and the Nordic Five together, Lindkvist said.

But also, uncertainty around security and trade presses the need for collaboration.

“All these aspects obviously bring friends even closer together, and we need to work together with partners and allies where we see eye to eye,” Lindkvist said.

He mentioned Nunavut’s fisheries as an opportunity to buy into the territory’s resources. Last month, Community Services Minister David Akeeagok spoke of the need to explore new export markets for its fish.

Beyond this recent visit, Lindkvist said his Nordic Five delegation plans to come back north in the future. For example, they hope to meet with attendees and leaders when they head to the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, next year.

“We are really engaged in trying to be very present in the North as well as in Ottawa, and that is one of the reasons why we take the time to actually travel and to meet as many people as we can in the world,” he said.