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The Czech Republic attended the third Arctic Science Ministerial

 

The third Arctic Science Ministerial Conference (ASM3) took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 8 to 9 May 2021, with the participation of 28 states and representatives of organizations representing the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic.

On behalf of the Czech Republic, a joint delegation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was led by Pavel Doleček, Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science and Research of the Ministry of Education. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs Aleš Chmelař represented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to the epidemiological situation, most of the delegations, including the Czech one, participated in a virtual form.

The third Arctic Science Ministerial Conference followed up on previous meetings in Washington (2016) and Berlin (2018) and was co-organized by Japan and Iceland. The participants were welcomed by the Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and by the Ministers for Education and Research of both co-organizing countries. The aim of the conference is to become a broad platform for meeting of representatives of states, polar scientists and organizations of Indigenous peoples of the Arctic region.

Deputy Minister Pavel Doleček delivered a statement, in which he pointed out that the Czech Republic is intensively involved in international programs and projects that focus on Arctic research. Furthermore, he mentioned, among others, the Czech Josef Svoboda Arctic Research Station in Svalbard, which for several years has served not only as a base for top international scientific projects, but also as a training center for Czech and foreign students. He also reminded that the Czech Republic is applying for observer status in the Arctic Council, whose meeting will take place on 19 - 20 May 2021 in Reykjavík.

At the end of the conference, the participants signed a joint declaration committing to joint efforts that should lead both to a better understanding of life and natural and climatic processes in the Arctic, and to deepening the international cooperation to protect unique ecosystems and Arctic populations. In addition to the ministerial part, a parallel scientific meeting took place within the ASM3 program. The Czech Republic was represented by scientists from the Center of Polar Ecology at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice.

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