MFA Press Statement: Study Visit to Singapore by Representatives of the Arctic Council Permanent Participants, 17 to 21 November 2014

            Senior representatives of organisations that represent the indigenous communities in the Arctic are in Singapore on a study visit from 17 to 21 November 2014 under the auspices of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. These organisations - the Aleut International Association, the Arctic Athabaskan Council, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East (RAIPON) and the Saami Council – are Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council, in which Singapore is an Observer state.  They are also accompanied by the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat.

            During the five-day visit, the visitors from the Arctic will exchange views and experiences with Singapore’s officials on various aspects of social and economic development including preservation of heritage and culture, social harmony, public health, climate change strategies and environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and coastal management.  They will also visit sites like the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, which is a critical stop for Arctic migratory birds, as well as the Marina Barrage, to learn about Singapore’s water management strategies.

            Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth Mr Sam Tan will host lunch for the representatives of the Permanent Participants.  

            The Arctic region is home to approximately 500,000 indigenous people.  Six organisations representing the Arctic indigenous communities – the Aleut International Association; the Arctic Athabaskan Council, the Gwich’in Council International, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, RAIPON and the Saami Council – have been accorded Permanent Participant status at the Arctic Council, the premier inter-governmental forum to foster cooperation in the Arctic.  Permanent Participants are accorded full consultative rights in the negotiations and decisions of the Council.  They are supported by the Arctic Council Indigenous People’s Secretariat.  The Arctic Council comprises eight Member States: Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.  Singapore was granted Observer status in the Arctic Council in May 2013.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

17 NOVEMBER 2014