Troms County chair of Barents Regional Council

It was the former chairman Pauli Saapunki from Oulu region who handed over the chairmanship to Troms County and Pia Svendsgård in Murmansk this week. In her opening speech Svendsgård said that Troms will perform active leadership of the Regional Council during their two years in chair. An important goal is to set important challenges in the region on a national agenda.

Three priorities
Svendsgård pointed out three areas of priority for Troms County’s period in chairmanship. The first area of priority is to improve the structures of cooperation in the Barents Region and develop a closer contact between the different regions. As important is the work to implement other regional cooperation structures in the north, and also the EU efforts in the north like the Arctic strategy and the Northern Dimension.

The second area which Troms will prioritize is to promote sustainable constraints in the north. The Barents Region has a large amount of various natural resources. Therefore it is important to promote research on climate and environment and the use of modern technology. The oil and gas activity outside the coast of Barents Region will create possibilities and synergies in the High North. The opening of the Polar region for transport is an additional potential for activity in the region. Svendsgård urged politicians of the north to join resources in a common plan on how to face the common challenges and possibilities of the years to come.

Culture and business development
The third important area of priority for the Troms Chairmanship is to promote culture and business development. The aim is to strengthen the political focus on business development, and cultural understanding is a central factor to accomplish this. Through cultural awareness Troms wish to dismantle obstacles and create close relations across the borders, and thus develop the fundament for better business relations.