Arctic Council Secretariat

The Arctic Council Secretariat (ACS) supports the Chair of the Arctic Council. At the Nuuk Ministerial Meeting May 2011 Arctic Ministers decided to establish the Standing Arctic Council Secretariat at the Fram Centre in Tromsø. The Standing Secretariat became operational 1 June 2013.

ACS functions

Administrative and organizational support

• arranging and servicing meetings as required
• transmitting reports to and from Arctic states, Permanent Participants, Working Groups and Task Forces, other subsidiary bodies and Observers
• assisting the Chair in drafting meeting documents including final reports
• providing services to Permanent Participants and Working Groups
• administrative services concerning general correspondence
• archiving of records

Communication and outreach

• operating the Arctic Council website, including web pages of those Working Groups without a secretariat
• facilitating and improving the quality and availability of information on the Arctic Council
• recording, maintaining and posting, as appropriate, the records of the Arctic Council
• facilitating the exchange of information among the Arctic states, Permanent Participants and Observers
• at the request of SAOs and Permanent Participants, developing strategic communication and outreach plans and other documents under the direct supervision of the Chair, in support of the Arctic Council