Visit from Iceland's new SAO and Ministerial Contact Group
The Stefansson Arctic Institute recently received a visit from Iceland’s new Senior Arctic Official (SAO), Hlynur Guðjónsson, along with his colleagues in a ministerial contact group for the Arctic. The group included representatives from four ministries: the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education, the Ministry of Industries, and the Prime Minister's Office.
Jón Haukur, Helga, and Sveinbjörg welcomed the guests and discussed the institute’s research activities and important Arctic issues. Hlynur, who previously served as Iceland’s Ambassador to Canada, assumed the role of Senior Arctic Ambassador last month, and the visit formed part of efforts to become acquainted with Arctic-related work on UNAK’s campus.
In addition to the Stefansson Arctic Institute, the group visited the University of Akureyri, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna), PAME (Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment), and the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network (IACN), which organized the visit.
It was a pleasure to receive representatives from so many ministries at once, and we thank them for their visit and for the productive discussions.