FORUM
On December 7-8, the XIII International Forum «Arctic: Today and the Future» was held in St. Petersburg at the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Center.
The Forum traditionally presented the most extensive business program on Arctic topics. Over the course of two days, during 50 sessions in 11 thematic areas, more than 425 speakers from the government, business, business community, science and non-profit organizations worked out solutions for the development of one of the most important macro-regions of the country. The total number of Forum participants exceeded 2000 people from different regions of Russia and foreign countries.
About the Forum's role
«The many years of fruitful work of this discussion platform is the result of joint efforts of all those who make a significant contribution to the creative development of the Arctic zone and the preservation of its unique ecosystem. The Forum traditionally brings together authoritative representatives of government and business, scientific, educational and public organizations. Our joint goal is to make the Arctic a territory of peace and cooperation, security and stability. I am confident that the Forum will give impetus to many promising ideas and endeavors».
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on ensuring the national interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic Dmitry Medvedev
«The development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is a state policy priority. The list of key tasks in this region includes: improving the quality of life of people, preserving the environment, developing the shelf, creating transportation infrastructure, and launching year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route. The Forum «Arctic: Today and the Future» is a tool to help us solve these tasks. The Forum's resolution consolidates public initiatives and is a reliable tool for receiving feedback on our activities».
Acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Presidential, Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev
«The topics to be discussed by leading Russian and foreign experts are very important and topical indeed. After all, the Earth's North Polar Area is a territory of exceptional economic importance, an invaluable storehouse of natural resources, a region that provides a reserve of ecological strength for our planet, a natural laboratory for studying global climate change, and an invaluable source of unique scientific knowledge. We are all obliged to take care of its progressive all-round development».
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transportation Sergey Ivanov
«The Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future" traditionally raises the issues of strategic development of the environmental agenda in the North, climatic aspects, cyclical economy and many other challenges of today.
A special area of focus is the involvement of young people in preserving the Arctic environment. Young participants of the Forum, residents of the «Meeting of Generations» project, actively participate in discussions on Arctic development issues».
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Victoria Abramchenko
«We are strengthening cooperation with Russia's northern territories in science and education, ecology, culture and tourism. Participation in Arctic initiatives allows the city to expand its development horizons, its competencies, and build up its investment potential in many areas.
The International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future", which is traditionally held in St. Petersburg, is a great opportunity to combine knowledge and ideas, exchange experience, and strengthen interregional ties».
Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov
Statistics
BUSINESS PROGRAM ARCHITECTURE
Forum Events
The Arctic is a treasure trove of resources and
a guarantee of Russia's economic sovereignty,
but the macro-region needs human resources
This was the opinion of the participants of all sessions held during the XIII International Forum «Arctic: Today and the Future».
|
The plenary session «Not the Far North: How approaches to development are changing and what the Arctic is for Russia today» was dedicated to discussing the role of the Arctic zone for our country and updating federal strategies to ensure socio-economic growth of the northern territories. |
The plenary session started with welcoming words of the Chairman of the Forum Organizing Committee, President of the Association of Polar Explorers, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic Artur Chilingarov, presented by the First Vice-President of the Association Mikhail Slipenchuk.
«We are united by a common goal: we are all not indifferent to the fate of the Russian Arctic. We understand what role the sustainable development of this macro-region plays not only for those who live and work there, but also for the country and even for the world as a whole», the legendary polar explorer noted in his address.
Representatives of federal structures emphasized the strategic importance of the Arctic for the whole of Russia, the need to update approaches to its exploration and development taking into account the current realities, as well as the use of opportunities for new sectors of the economy. Many projects are already underway in the AZRF, not only in transportation and resource extraction, but also in tourism, construction, social development, ecology, preservation of indigenous cultures, and others.
Economics and investment attraction |
The creation of a system of economic preferences in the Arctic zone of Russia in 2020 has led to the fact that 766 investment projects have already been announced for implementation in this territory. The volume of investments will amount to 1.75 trillion rubles, about 40 thousand jobs will be created. To date, more than 13 thousand jobs have already been created. At the moment, the mining industry ranks first in terms of investment volume - 44 projects worth Br862 billion are being implemented. If we talk about the sectoral structure, among the 766 residents, the service sector is the leader - 197 projects, the construction and development industry - 143 projects, and 127 projects are being implemented in the tourism sector, said Gadzhimagomed Huseynov, First Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic. |
Northern Sea Route More than 36 million tons of cargo will be transported in 2023 along the Northern Sea Route, which is an absolute record in the history of transportation along the NSR. ROSATOM, in cooperation with shippers, is working on justifying the construction of four additional nuclear-powered icebreakers to operate on the Northern Sea Route, said Vladimir Panov, special representative of ROSATOM for Arctic development. |
|
A special two-day conference «Northern Sea Route 365?» was also held at the Forum. During the discussion, the speakers discussed the prospects for the development of the Arctic's most important transportation artery and the conditions necessary to launch year-round navigation in its waters. The issues discussed included improving economic efficiency and infrastructure development, increasing the predictability of navigation and safety of navigation, and providing Arctic projects with the necessary number of high-ice-class vessels.
|
Reference settlements Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrei Chibis, who heads the State Council working group on Arctic development, spoke about the work done. 30 billion rubles were approved for the renovation of closed administrative-territorial entities of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation for the next three years. In addition, the supporting settlements of the Arctic were identified, the preferential program “Arctic Mortgage” was launched, and the criteria for the «Priority.2030» program were expanded. We are trying to do our best to change the quality of life in our Arctic subjects, assured Andrei Chibis. |
In addition, the forum program included separate sessions devoted to the formation of proposals for the further development of reference settlements, the creation of master plans and comfortable urban environment taking into account the Arctic specifics.
The Arctic is a treasure trove of more
than just oil and gas
Arctic territories have a huge potential for ensuring sovereignty in rare metals mining and avoiding import dependence. The Plenary Session presented a project that combines the competencies of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom to create the foundation of the lithium industry in our country - the Polar Lithium enterprise.
|
International agenda We see growing interest in the Arctic and cooperation in the region with member countries of BRICS, SCO, Latin America, the Middle East region, as well as Asia-Pacific countries, emphasized Nikolai Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry. |
|
Three sessions of the Forum were dedicated to a new vector of international cooperation. Representatives of the academic community and public organizations from Norway, the USA, China, India, Australia and other countries took part in the discussion. The experts emphasized the importance of public diplomacy and building horizontal ties in the current geopolitical situation. Diplomats from Singapore, Uruguay, Uganda, Bahrain, and Brazil presented the vision of extra-regional countries on cooperation with Russia on projects implemented in the Arctic.
Regional Plenary session «Russia for the Arctic: in search of universal and unique mechanisms for increasing the attractiveness of the Russian Arctic regions»
The second day of the forum and the second plenary session were devoted to finding an answer to the question of what the Arctic needs to realize large-scale projects. Experts noted that this process is impossible without retaining young people and an influx of specialists from other regions of the country.
Elvira Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, noted that a special emphasis is being placed on the creative economy in the Arctic zone, which allows many children oriented towards creative professions not to leave for other regions and to be realized at home - in the Arctic zone. Yury Bezdudny, Governor of the Nenets Autonomous District, assured that any person moving to the region would be provided with a job, and also noted the importance of approving the Arctic Mortgage program.
The business program also included several sessions dedicated to the formation of new approaches to youth and personnel policy by major companies and authorities. Alexander Bugaev, First Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, noted the importance of modernizing school infrastructure and supporting the work of teachers. Representatives of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel spoke about the talent management system «New People for New Productions». Rosatom presented projects to create youth communities. This work helps retain the younger generation in the regions by involving them in social activities.
Project «Meeting of Generations» |
In support of attracting personnel to the Arctic, the Association of Polar Explorers opened the Forum's doors not only for adults, but also for children. A highlight of the event was a stage of the "Meeting of Generations" educational project aimed at career guidance for young people and ensuring the future inflow of qualified personnel to the northern regions. At the exposition of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, created specially for the project, as well as at the stands of other leading Arctic employers, 400 schoolchildren in grades 7-8 were told about in-demand professions and opportunities for self-realization in the Arctic through interactive activities. As part of the project stage, a test was held, and 20 winners will have the opportunity to visit the Arctic regions. |
|
Exhibition exposition The business program of the Forum was traditionally supplemented by an exhibition. The State Corporation Rosatom, the Government of St. Petersburg, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, PJSC URAL, and other exhibitors presented projects being implemented in the Arctic, advanced technologies and solutions for the development of the Arctic. Over the course of two days, 10 cooperation agreements were signed at the site. |
|
The XIII International Forum «Arctic: Today and the Future» is organized by the Association of Polar Explorers with the support of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Commission for Arctic Development, and other relevant ministries and agencies. The Forum will result in a Resolution with the proposals of the participants, which will be sent to the relevant authorities.
PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel supported the forum as a general partner. The general information partner was the Russian news agency TASS. The official sponsor of the forum is VTB Bank (PJSC), the forum partner is PJSC Novatek, a special partner of the NGO Polar Research Foundation Polar Fund. Section partners are Rosatom State Corporation, MTS PJSC and Stroitelstvo Research Center JSC.
