Brazil wants to become an observer in the Arctic Council, with the country showing great interest in the Arctic.

“Brazil is interested in becoming part of the Arctic Council, becoming an observer country. We have a special interest in the Arctic and in all the opportunities that exist there,” Brazilian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Rodrigo de Lima Baena Soares told reporters after his meeting with Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrey Chibis.

The Murmansk Region governor noted that the participation of a South American country in the Arctic Council could be very useful, given the partnership and friendly ties between Russia and Brazil.

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental organization of Arctic states. The member states include Russia, Denmark (with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Canada, Norway, the US, Finland, and Sweden. In 2021, when the 25th anniversary of the association was celebrated, the two-year chairmanship passed from Iceland to the Russian Federation. In March 2022, the Western countries froze cooperation within the Arctic Council due to the events in Ukraine, however, as Nikolai Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, emphasized, Russia is successfully implementing its chairmanship program even without them.