During a working visit to the Kola Arctic, the Consul General India in St. Petersburg Kumar Gaurav met with Deputy Governor of the Murmansk region Olga Vovk.
"Today we would like to discuss the main areas of cooperation between our region and India in various fields. At the regional level, cooperation in such areas as science, technology and innovation, pharmaceuticals and nuclear energy, and mining has great potential. We are grateful to you in advance for your cooperation and further joint work," Olga Vovk, Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Region, said in her welcoming speech.
Kumar Gaurav noted that his first visit to the city of Murmansk took place today.
He noted that this meeting once again underlines the importance and significance of relations between India and Russia.
"Relations between India and Russia are at an unusually high level, and our strategic privileged partnership is a unique experience for both countries. No country in the world can boast of this partnership with India. And this visit only strengthens our bilateral relations. I will be very glad to hear your ideas, your vision of the development of these relations and the prospects for work in the future. The Murmansk Region is a key region for the development of our relations in the strategic Arctic regions. And I will be glad to convey your wishes and ideas to the new Ambassador of India," Kumar Gaurav said.
He also noted that the economic development of our countries has reached unprecedented heights in recent years. Thus, in 2024, the trade balance exceeded $50 billion, although it was planned to reach the threshold of $ 35 billion only in 2025.
In the continuation of the meeting, Vice-Governor Olga Vovk presented the Kola Arctic to the guests, telling about the main directions of development of the region as a key participant in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
"The region occupies a strategic position on the map of Russia. It is fully part of the Russian Arctic and falls entirely under the Arctic preferences, it is part of the free economic zone. Direct access to the World Ocean and to the routes of the Northern Sea Route without passing through international straits opens up unique opportunities for the development of logistics. The Murmansk Region is an accessible Arctic. Murmansk is the largest city in the world beyond the Arctic Circle, the capital of the Arctic," Olga Vovk noted.
Further, the meeting participants discussed promising areas, including the potential of twinning cooperation within the framework of expanding the geography of inter-municipal relations in order to develop humanitarian and cultural ties, interaction in the field of culture, education, tourism, youth policy and sports.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /