The meeting was the first bilateral meeting between the two foreign ministers. Commenting on the meeting, Mr. Støre said the two countries now have a joint focus on the High North, newspaper Aftenposten reports.
-Climate in the High North, transport in the High North, search and rescue in the High North. Here the USA now is coming in actively, in contrast to before, Mr. Støre told NTB.
Hillary Clinton in the two ministers’ joint press conference said that the Obama administration highly values the partnership with Norway and that the two countries are looking for ways to address common challenges such as the impact of climate change. She described the meeting with Mr. Støre as “a very productive discussion”.
The meeting between Clinton and Støre was held after a Joint Session of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and the Arctic Council. In that meeting, Ms Clinton said that the Arctic countries “should be looking to strengthen peace and security, and support sustainable economic development, and protect the environment”.
“The warming of the Arctic has profound implications for global commerce, with the opening of new shipping routes. It raises the possibility of new energy exploration, which will, of course, have additional impacts on our environment.”
The Secretary of State also underlined that Arctic warming already has serious consequences for the indigenous communities in the region, the Department of State reports.
“The changes underway in the Arctic will have long-term impacts on our economic future, our energy future, and indeed, again, the future of our planet. So it is crucial that we work together”, she concluded.
