Arctic companies strengthen ties with Korea

Years of collaboration between the Arctic Economic Council (AEC) and the Korea Arctic Research Consortium (KoARC) has been formalised during the AEC Annual General Meeting that took place in Tromsø on May 10th.

“In the Arctic region companies work closely together with researchers and share some of the same infrastructures and exchange data. With global warming happening at four times the global average in the Arctic, companies must prepare for a changing environment to do business in and South Korea has some of the leading researchers in the field,” says Mads Qvist Frederiksen, the Executive Director of the AEC.

During the AEC Annual General Meeting in Tromsø, AEC and KoARC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalise the working relationship between the two organisations.

The Korea Arctic Research Consortium (KoARC) is a multidisciplinary cooperative network involving companies, research institutions, and academia. The consortium has over 40 members, including Korea’s three largest shipbuilders —Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) — and Korea Gas Corp.

“With the signing of this MOU, KoARC will do its best to encourage the Korean companies to participate in Arctic business development by strengthening collaboration and information sharing with AEC. We are also looking forward to welcoming the AEC to speak at this year’s Arctic Partnership Week in Korea,” says Hyunkyo SEO, Secretary General of KoARC.

Arctic Economic Council is an independent business membership organisation promoting the sustainable economic development of the Arctic. The organisation has members from more than 11 different countries and is looking to strengthen the relationship with more Asian partners. The signing of the MOU comes after years of dialogue and informal partnerships with KoARC and other Korean partners. This MOU will support and facilitate increased sustainable development of the Arctic.

“Sustainable economic development in the Arctic is very important. It has global implications, that is why we need everyone onboard. KoARC is famous for cooperation among industry-science-policy, and its members especially have many years of Arctic expertise within the shipbuilding industry. We are very honoured to extend our cooperation network all the way to Seoul,” says Mads Qvist Frederiksen, the Executive Director of the AEC.

You can read the Memorandum of Understanding between AEC and KoARC here