New Year's Reception 2010.

Honorable ministers, Members of Parliament, your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear guests.

Happy New Year! And a warm welcome to all of you. I sincerely hope that you had a peaceful Christmas holiday. I am sure that your holiday was well deserved and especially for those of you who were closely involved with the many demanding events that we experienced last year and especially during the COP15.

The year 2009 was for us in Greenland a historic year, as we celebrated the inauguration of Self-government on June 21. Many of you who are here today joined us in our celebrations and thereby contributed to making the day even more memorable. On behalf of my government and the people of Greenland, I thank you wholeheartedly for joining us in the celebrations and for your warm congratulations.

(Please, let me also use the opportunity to express the feelings of gratitude that my colleagues and I felt for the warm support and the well wishes we received when we took office in June 2009 following the general elections. Let me also use the occasion to present those of my colleagues who are present today: Minister for Finances Mr. Palle Christiansen, Minister for Internal Affairs and Environment, Mr. Anthon Fredriksen. The chairman of the Greenland Parliament Mr. Josef Tuusi Motzfeldt is also honoring us with his presence)

The inauguration of Self-government in Greenland was an event that caught international attention. This welcomed attention came on top of the one generated from the concern for and debate on global warming and which culminated with the COP 15 summit a few weeks ago here in Copenhagen. We in Greenland have grave concerns for the global climate. We are the direct eyewitnesses to the serious impacts. Some of these impacts are so severe that people’s livelihoods as hunters and fishermen in many places have come under threat. Resolute adaptation measures will be needed in order to secure those whose livelihoods are threatened.

But we are also keenly aware that the media-attention generated by the international interests for effective climate change mitigation measures was one that was not entirely in our control. As a result, large sections of the global TV audience believe, that the best solution to save the climate is to turn Greenland, along with the rest of the Arctic, into a Protected Natural Park. Luckily, the media-attention that was generated by the inauguration of Self-government allowed for a more nuanced picture of our country, our people, our history and our aspirations.

During the COP 15 - Greenland managed to get a reasonable good accord with Denmark on Greenland’s mitigation obligations. We now feel that there is an understanding, on part of Denmark, on Greenland’s development needs. A growing healthy Greenlandic economy does not only mean tangible welfare benefits for people in Greenland; but will also produce a surplus that we can use to finance the new fields of competences that we want to take over from Denmark.

The character of relationship between Denmark and Greenland and our differences in interests and opinion represents the global situation between developed and developing countries “in a nutshell “. So from that perspective, I must admit that I felt a tinge of disappointment when COP 15 came to closure.

But I am also confident, that solutions eventually will be reached at the coming COP–meetings. However, I also believe that in order to achieve lasting solutions, the global energy security and the energy poverty experienced by developing countries in particular, will need to be addressed by the international community.

Greenland’s own energy planning involves both our domestic energy consumption as well as our aspirations for eventually becoming a net-exporter of energy. This requires finding the optimal mix between the use of renewable and non-renewable energy.

As of January 1, we took over the ownership and control of Greenland’s oil and mineral resources. This summer, there will be two exploratory drillings for oil off the west coast of Greenland and we expect more drillings in the coming years.

Likewise, we are continuing the building of hydroelectric plants. With the recent opening of the fourth hydroelectric plant, 42 % of Greenland’s electricity supply is now based on clean energy. This summer, we will actively start to seek international investors to finance yet two or more hydroelectric plants. An expansion of our capacity in clean energy would also be crucial in the event we decide to develop energy intensive industries.

With growing anxieties over international terrorism, security of international investments and the shifting of geo-political balances, my government strongly believes that Greenland has an enormous potential for becoming a reliable and trustworthy partner for global energy security and in energy business.

Though we focus much of our attention on new industries, the living resources remain the mainstay of our economy and will remain so for many years still. The hunting and in-shore fisheries’ sector will be subjected to a serious overhaul, so it can become a more effective component, also, in domestic food production and distribution.

Given the importance of our living resources for our own food security as well as for our export sector, I am very proud of the excellent management infrastructure and organization that we have. The knowledge of biologists from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources is combined with the local and traditional knowledge of hunters and fishermen in informing the utilization decisions. This enables us to live up to highest possible standards on the principles of sustainable utilization of resources.

My government believes in safeguarding the reproductive capacity of our natural environment, not only for protecting the known living resources, but also for protecting the microorganisms that we at present know very little about.

The enormous natural environment is a depository for rare and potentially important microorganisms. Through investments and cooperation in science and innovation, we may in future gain valuable knowledge. A knowledge that in the end can contribute to finding new solutions, such as within medicine, food safety and for human welfare in general.

I will conclude my speech by turning to the most important subjects in a human centered development and that is children and youth.

We all know that education is key to the healthy development of children and young people. Therefore, we continue the heavy resource investment in the education system of nearly 20 % of our fiscal budget. In order to enhance the social well fare of low-income families and other vulnerable groups, we have recently established an expert Commission on Tax and Well-fare. The mandate of the Commission is to analyze the constraints and opportunities for alleviating poverty and for reducing social inequities.

Furthermore, we are also working closely with the municipalities, with parents and professionals in promoting the health and social and emotional well being of children and youth. We have for this year’s fiscal budget set aside 25 million DKK for children and youth with urgent needs. In all of this work, we believe in the involvement of local communities, but also in the benefits of exchanging best practices with partners from outside Greenland.

In closing, let me express my sincere gratitude to all of you for the excellent cooperation and the fruitful exchanges that we have had in 2009. Many of the results that we have reaped in 2009, could not have happened without the support that Greenland has among partners and friends in Denmark as well as in the international community at large. As Greenland wants to become a more committed and proactive partner on the international scene, I hope that we count on your continued advice and cooperation in the many exciting tasks and challenges that my government has on its plate for 2010.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year

Thank you.

Qujanaq