5TH ANNUAL U.S.-DENMARK-GREENLAND JOINT COMMITTEE

UNCLAS STATE 066324

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SENV ENRG ETRD SCUL DA
SUBJECT: 5TH ANNUAL U.S.-DENMARK-GREENLAND JOINT COMMITTEE
MEETING, WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 7


1. Summary. The fifth annual Denmark-United
States-Greenland Joint Committee Meeting held May 7 in
Washington successfully advanced mutual cooperation on issues
ranging from environment, science and technology to trade,
tourism and education. Highlights included a presentation by
U.S. Geological Survey of oil and gas resource potential in
Greenland and agreement on atmospheric and ice mass
monitoring and data sharing. The next Joint Committee
meeting will take place in Copenhagen in 2009. End summary.


2. Danish and Greenlandic Home Rule Government officials met
with USG representatives from Commerce, Defense, State, the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),the National Science
Foundation, NASA, and the New York Air National Guard for the
fifth annual Joint Committee Meeting in Washington on May 7.
The USGS presented preliminary findings indicating the
potential for enormous oil and gas reserves on the East
Greenland Shelf and Alcoa representatives briefed on progress
to construct a multi-billion dollar aluminum smelter and
co-located electricity generation facility.


3. The Environment, Science, Technology and Health Working
Group recognized that changes in the Greenland ice sheet
could entail major consequences worldwide. Working group
participants discussed a range of activities that could lead
to an improved understanding of these changes, how they might
progress over time, and how research addressing ice sheet
changes could be better linked to meeting the needs of local
residents. In this context the group discussed plans to:

- Link studies focused on long-term climate change to those
focused on improved short-term weather forecasting;

- Connect ground-based measurements of surface elevation to
satellite measurements to improve knowledge of ice sheet
losses;

- Cooperate in the study of permafrost warming in Greenland
and Alaska;

- Cooperate to provide logistics support for scientific
research in Greenland;

- Cooperate with the new Center for Climate
Research at Nuuk, Greenland;

- Cooperate to monitor deep water formation in the
Labrador Sea and surface water mixing in the ocean off
Greenland; and

- Offer a week-long opportunity for select Greenlandic,
Danish and U.S. students and teachers to visit Greenland and
to conduct research at NSF's Greenland Summit research
station.

The United States, Denmark and Greenland reached agreement to
link U.S., Danish and Greenlandic atmospheric and ice mass
monitoring data generated by a variety of national technical
agencies. In addition to creating new opportunities for
scientific data exchange, the agreement should also offer
Greenland the concrete benefit of access to better weather
data.


4. The Trade and Tourism Working Group advanced existing and
new ideas for cooperation. The Department of Commerce put
Greenland representatives in contact with USDA and FDA
officials to help Greenland create an online brochure
detailing U.S. import requirements for food products. The
initiative is intended to facilitate Greenlandic exports of
reindeer, musk ox and lamb to the United States. With the
goal of improving competitiveness in the Greenlandic
workforce, plans were also discussed to bring Greenlandic
students and teachers to the United States to advance
Greenlandic capacities in vocational education, e-learning,
educating students with special needs and health education.
A &Cruise Greenland8 workshop and seminar on investment
opportunities in Greenland was organized the day following
the JC meeting and attracted a wide audience, creating new
business leads for Greenlandic companies.


5. The Education and Culture Working Group reached agreement
on exploring additional opportunities to create study tours
in 2008 for Greenlandic educational institutions. The tours
will be designed to identify and create new contacts with
U.S. counterparts in education. The group also discussed how
Greenlandic students might make better use of existing
bilateral exchange programs between Danish and U.S.
universities and determined to seek additional opportunities
to increase the number of Greenlanders participating in U.S.
Government-sponsored International and Voluntary Visitors
Programs, subject to available U.S. and Greenlandic Funding.


6. Next year,s JC meeting will take place in Copenhagen.
RICE