NR 13.192 - June 13, 2013
OTTAWA – The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Tom Lawson, participated in a two-day Northern Chiefs of Defence conference hosted by the Danish Chief of Defence, General Peter Bartram, in Ilulissat, Greenland, on June 11 and 12. This second annual gathering of the Northern Chiefs of Defence built upon the results of the 2012 meeting held in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, by strengthening regional defence relationships and fostering dialogue about northern issues of common interest.
“I was very pleased to attend this gathering hosted by our Danish friends. This meeting series has helped my counterparts and I to continue to increase our mutual understanding of the issues, and our sharing of Arctic experience and expertise. I also found our collective and bi-lateral sessions to be very fruitful,” said General Lawson. “While we each have our own national realities, we do have many common interests in the North - search and rescue, environmental stewardship and support to our respective civilian authorities, to name just a few. I believe this meeting has served to inform our collective dialogue and has further developed Canada's Defence relationship with its Northern neighbours. I look forward to our next encounter and further building upon this valuable initiative.”
In attendance at the gathering were His Royal Highness Prince Joachim, Prince of Denmark, and the Chiefs of Defence and other defence representatives from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. This year’s initiative also brought together each nation’s Northern Regional Commanders to explore areas for potential collaboration.
The primary objective of this two-day conference was to allow all attending parties to build upon their existing Defence relationships by offering an opportunity for direct multilateral and bilateral discussions focused on Northern issues. Topics discussed included the sharing of knowledge and expertise about regional operational challenges; responsible stewardship of the North; and the role Northern militaries can play in support of their respective civil authorities.
The first Northern Chiefs of Defence gathering was initiated by Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff in 2012 with the aim of creating a forum where the Chiefs of Defence and other regional senior defence officials could discuss common safety and security issues pertaining to the North.
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