At the 8th Ministerial meeting in Kiruna, Sweden, in 2013, Ministers of the Arctic States mandated the creation of a Task Force "to work towards an arrangement on improved scientific research cooperation among the eight Arctic States". The culmination of this work came at the 10th Ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska on 11th May 2017, with the signature of the "Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation".
The purpose of this Agreement is to enhance cooperation in Scientific Activities in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency in the development of scientific knowledge about the Arctic.