Russia wants Northern Sea Route cooperation

- As the Russian President’s special representative on international cooperation in the Arctic I can officially declare that we are open for cooperation on exploration of the Northern Sea Route, the famous Russian Polar researcher and State Duma deputy said.

Artur Chilingarov is one of the most active spokespersons for further development of the Northern Sea Route with all its possibilities for transport from west to east. He was the initiator for the creation of a non-commercial partnership for coordinated exploration of the sea route, a function that the state used to have in the Soviet period.

Representatives from the Norwegian Barents Secretariat met with Chilingarov in Murmansk in connection with the Murmansk Economic Forum. The secretariat is currently working for the establishment of a Northern Sea Route representation office in Kirkenes.

A meeting with the President of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association Elisabeth Grieg is planned in Kirkenes in November. Head of the Barents Secretariat Rune Rafaelsen invited Russian shipping companies to this meeting to discuss international cooperation on the sea route, which will become more and more important as the ice gets thinner and the passage opens up for transport without icebreaker support.

Head of the Russian company Sovfrakht Dmitry Purim promised to invite the Head of the Russian Shipowners’ Association to the meeting in Kirkenes.

(Written by Alexey Filin, Norwegian Barents Secretariat's Murmansk Office)