"We are the initiators and in a good sense of the word" holders" of the international Arctic agenda, "– this is how the Governor of the Murmansk region Andrey Chibis commented on the results of the III international session"Cooperation in the Arctic" held online on November 17.
The discussion platform, which was initiated by the authorities of the Murmansk region two years ago, has already gained a reputation as a serious forum dedicated to discussing the most pressing, practical issues of everyday life and development of the Arctic countries and regions. This time, the topics of the sessions were: "the Arctic today and tomorrow"; "Barents cooperation-a success story";"twin cities Cooperation: a look into the future".
The remote mode in which the session was held did not interfere with the exchange of views. Moreover, the high level of the platform was demonstrated by greetings sent to the session "Cooperation in the Arctic" by officials such as Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister for the development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation on ecology, environmental protection and transport Sergey Ivanov, members of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev and Alexey Pushkov. The session was attended by a number of high-ranking diplomats and regional leaders of the Arctic States, Including the ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland to the Russian Federation, the EU Ambassador to the Russian Federation Markus Ederer, and the Governor of Finnish Lapland Mika Riipi. The session was traditionally moderated by Thomas Hallberg, head Of the international Barents Secretariat.
In all three sections, the Murmansk region offered participants a whole set of practical achievements and suggestions.
During the Arctic today and tomorrow section, Andrey Chibis told his foreign colleagues about the measures taken in the Arctic region to increase the investment attractiveness and environmental safety of the region, to "reset" the higher education system and create a modern tourism industry in Murmansk.
"We have not stopped for a second in solving the problems of economic development, improving the quality of life of people, despite the fact that we spend a lot of time and effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic," the Governor stressed.
The head of the Murmansk region noted that during the pandemic, the Barents cooperation format was particularly well established.
"My colleagues and the governors of the Barents region have already met twice and discussed the current situation, exchanged practices – what actions and decisions are taken by the authorities both to minimize risks and to develop the economy. This is a very clear example of the effectiveness of Barents cooperation in the face of a specific threat to the whole world, " said Andrey Chibis, Recalling that work is currently underway to create a separate portal on the basis of the Barents Secretariat's Internet platform dedicated to the current situation with coronavirus in the Barents region and countering the pandemic.
During the discussion on cooperation between twin cities, the Governor of the Murmansk region shared with the session participants the experience of urban development on the example of Murmansk. Among the concrete steps, Andrey Chibis mentioned the digitalization of housing and utilities management and the project to transform the port section into a new urban space with a cultural and business center.
The head of the region made a special emphasis on the fact that in all the mentioned areas of activity, without exception, the Murmansk region invites friends and partners to the broadest cooperation.
"This session demonstrates the very high status of the Murmansk region and its key role in the international Arctic agenda. In the run-up to the fact that Russia will become the Chairman of the Arctic Council for two years, the Murmansk region, according to our colleagues from the foreign Ministry, is the flagship and leader in the Arctic. This is fundamentally important for us, "Andrey Chibis summed up the results of the session "Cooperation in the Arctic".