The five nordic countries and the United States reaffirmed their deep partnership on important shared global priorities, according to a joint statement with visiting by U.S. President Barack Obama in Sweden on Wednesday.
In conjunction with the visit, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had invited the Nordic heads of state and government to a dinner, which was attended by Obama, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. They made a joint statement after the dinner.
"This evening, we have come together at a defining moment in the transatlantic relationship to discuss our long-term goals in each of these areas and agree to take concrete steps to achieve those goals," said the statement.
"We note the need to continue to strengthen our countries' important contributions to regional, transatlantic, and international forums, including in the EU, NATO and NATO Partnership context," it added.
"We recommit to continuing and expanding our security, recognizing that this cooperation - with and among the Nordic countries, with other regional partners, including especially the Baltic states, and in transatlantic and international fora - will be crucial to our success," said the statement.
It added that climate change is one of the foremost challenges for future economic growth and well-being. They underscore the importance of continuing to encourage innovative approaches to promoting energy efficiency and clean energy, including renewables, and of taking action on climate change, domestically and internationally. This requires mobilizing scaled up climate finance.
"We agreed on the importance of reaching an ambitious, comprehensive, fair, and inclusive climate agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015 that is consistent with science, mindful of the two degree target, and applicable to all," said it.
The statement also mentioned that the Nordic countries and the United States agreed to continue their work, in all appropriate channels, to reduce the use of domestic fossil fuel subsidies globally.
The United States also agrees to join with the Nordic members of the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform to undertake peer reviews of domestic fossil fuel subsidies.
Meanwhile, it emphasized that they recommit to protecting the Arctic environment, working to improve living conditions and encouraging sustainable development in the Arctic region, particularly with respect to indigenous peoples, and ensuring that the Arctic remains a peaceful region of cooperation.
"We will pursue opportunities in future Arctic Council meetings and other international fora to promote prosperity, foster scientific cooperation, and reduce emissions of black carbon in the Arctic region, as agreed upon in the Kiruna Declaration," said it.
