Русский
The Russian State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic has met to discuss upcoming proposals for discussions during the 6th International Arctic Forum “The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” to be held in Murmansk on March 26–27. The meeting was chaired by Alexei Dyumin, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and Secretary of the State Council of the Russian Federation, Andrey Chibis, Chairman of the Commission, Governor of the Murmansk Region, and Alexei Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Presidential Executive Office, federal ministries and agencies, the State Duma, the Russian State Development Fund, PhosAgro, OSK, Norilsk Nickel, and the heads of Russia’s Arctic regions.
The participants discussed socioeconomic issues of the regions in the Russian Arctic, as well as integrated projects for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
Alexey Dyumin noted that today the Arctic is acquiring a new significance, becoming a key element in securing Russia’s future. To maintain Russia’s leadership in the Arctic and the dynamic development of the macro-region’s economy requires the consolidation of all available tools, including financial and managerial ones. It is necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of the situation in the Arctic zone, to understand whether the existing measures are sufficient to support the development of the territory, and on this basis to determine what adjustments need to be made to the Arctic Development Strategy, taking into account the current challenges of both foreign and domestic political and economic nature.
It is necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of the situation in the Arctic zone, to understand whether the available measures are sufficient to support the development of the territory, and to use this analysis to identify the amendments that may need to be introduced to the Arctic Development Strategy, taking into account the existing challenges of foreign and domestic political and economic nature.
‘The main driving force of economic growth and development of the Arctic is people who have tied their fate to the North. And the state’s task is to provide northerners with a decent quality of life. In this regard, the main directions of our work remain the formation of comfortable housing conditions, development of modern social and engineering infrastructure,’ the Secretary of the State Council emphasised.
Alexei Chekunkov, the Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic noted that in pursuance of the President’s instructions and the strategic documents on developing the Arctic regions, the Government is implementing socioeconomic programmes aimed at attracting investment in the region’s economy, creating new enterprises, modernising cities, and most importantly, improving the quality of life in the Arctic.
“A huge role in increasing the investment appeal of the region is played by the priority development areas and the special economic regime of Russia’s Arctic zone. Thanks to them, almost 1,000 new projects with a total investment volume of over ₽2 trillion (US$22 billion) are already being implemented. This amount represents only the residents’ investment. The total amount of funding that went into the investment projects in the Arctic now exceeds ₽30 trillion (US$332 billion). Every sixth ruble of Russia’s GDP is being created in the Arctic.”
Commenting on the upcoming forum, Andrey Chibis, Governor of the Murmansk Region and Chairman of the Northern Sea Route and Arctic Commission, said that ‘Today, on Arctic Day, at the commission we proposed to hold a meeting with ‘Arctic’ governors – chairmen of State Council commissions – as part of the International Arctic Forum ‘Arctic – Territory of Dialogue’. Based on the results of the forum, a list of instructions will be formed to speed up the implementation of projects. This is another important step towards strengthening Russia’s position in the Arctic and creating comfortable conditions for living and working in the Arctic Circle. The Arctic requires systemic solutions, which is why we need a comprehensive project for the development of the ASRF and the NSR, which may receive the status of a national project.
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