On October 30th, 2015, in in New London, Connecticut, U.S, the eight Arctic States signed a Joint statement establishing an "Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF), an independent, informal, operationally driven organization, not bound by treaty, implying possibilities to organize meetings (consultations) of the heads and experts of the Members, exchange of the information of mutual concern, exchange of best practices, ideas and core principles of joint cooperation development, joint practical measures on maintaining safety and security at sea".
The ACGF is an operationally-focused, consensus-based organization with the purpose of leveraging collective resources to foster safe, secure and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic. Membership includes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation and the United States.
As reported in the signed text, with the establishment of the ACGF, it was recognized "the advantages to be gained from the multilateral cooperation and coordination" while "considering the necessity to further develop cooperation and good neighborliness, to foster safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic".