HELSINKI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The EU Commissioner responsible for Arctic policies, Karmenu Vella, on Thursday underlined the impact of Arctic development for the whole world.

Vella spoke at the opening of the first ever EU Arctic Forum in Oulu, Northern Finland. Vella noted that the Arctic region keeps warming at twice the speed the rest of the globe, local Oulu newspaper Kaleva reported.

Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said the Arctic region needs growth, but "in a responsible way".

Both Vella and Soini described the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to disengage from the Paris climate accords as a great disappointment. Soini said that he would like to appeal to Trump on the grounds that "protecting the Arctic is a good business".

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