Nunavut leaders set to greet Arctic Council delegations

Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna welcomes the Finnish minister of foreign affairs, Erkki Tuomioja, on the tarmac of Iqaluit’s airport April 23 as Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod and Iqaluit mayor Mary Wilman look on. Tuomioja’s Norwegian counterpart, Børge Brende (far left), descends from the same airplane. The ministers are in Iqaluit for the Arctic Council ministerial meeting, scheduled for April 24. (PHOTO BY THOMAS ROHNER)

Delegates to the Arctic Council, who will see a scene like this one as they descend into the Iqaluit Airport, are due to arrive in Iqaluit starting April 23. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Nunavut’s leaders are set to welcome four large delegations at the Iqaluit Airport, April 23 and April 24, for this week’s ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council.

“On behalf of the Government of Nunavut, and all Nunavummiut, I welcome the members of the Arctic Council to Iqaluit for their ninth ministerial meeting on April 24, 2015,” Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna stated by way of a news release on the eve of the international meeting, April 23.

Arriving first tonight, April 23, will be the delegations of Finland and Norway.

Both are expected to arrive together at the Iqaluit Airport, which has been preparing to seamlessly welcome Arctic Council delegates, at 7:00 p.m.

Taptuna and Iqaluit Mayor Mary Wilman, along with RCMP officers, will greet the foreign affairs ministers of both countries — Erkki Tuomioja of Finland and Børge Brende of Norway — upon their arrival.

Nunavut MP and chair of the Arctic Council, Leona Aglukkaq, will arrive in Iqaluit later in the evening. She will join the Nunavut premier and mayor of Iqaluit to welcome three large delegations the next day, the Nunavut premier’s office confirmed with Nunatsiaq News.

Two delegations from northern Europe will land in Iqaluit the next morning, April 24, starting with a large Danish contingent at 7:50 a.m., which will include representatives from Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Nunavut’s territorial and municipal leaders will greet Denmark’s minister of foreign affairs, Martin Lidegaard, with Greenland’s own minister of foreign affairs Vittus Qujaukitsoq and Kal Leo Johannesen, prime minister for the Faroe Islands.

Sweden’s delegation, led by the minister of foreign affairs Margot Wallstrom, is expected to arrive at 8:30 a.m.

The United States’ delegation, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, will arrive in the largest aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, at 10:00 a.m. Aglukkaq, Taptuna and Wilman will greet Kerry and the U.S. delegation on the tarmac, with RCMP officers in ceremonial garb. American delegates will then make their way into the city via motorcade.

Aglukkaq will hand the council’s ceremonial gavel to Kerry at some point during the ministerial meeting later that day, which will mark the transfer of chairmanship to the United States for the next two years.

“We are proud to host the eight member states and six permanent participants, as they continue their important work to promote the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development across the Arctic,” Taptuna said on behalf of the territory.

“I congratulate the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq on her successes as Canada’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council comes to an end,” the premier said.

“Canada’s work on development for the people of the North was a great success, and directly benefited our territory. The work on mental wellness and the development of the Arctic Economic Council were impressive highlights.

“Congratulations to the United States of America, as they assume the chair of the Arctic Council. We look forward to helping you realize our shared goals for a strong, sustainable Arctic,” Taptuna said.

The ministerial meeting will begin at 2 p.m. All proceedings take place within the chambers of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.