Current Affairs - International - Discussion

India was re-elected as Observer to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum. The decision was taken during the 11th Arctic Council ministerial meeting at Rovaniemi, Finland. The Council also appointed the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a new Observer. India successfully got the Observer status in 2013 during the Kiruna Ministerial meeting held in Sweden. India has its Arctic research station 'Himadri' in Svalbard, Norway since 2008. Located at the International Arctic Research base, the research station was set up by India's National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, an institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.