Andrey Chibis, Governor of the Murmansk Region, made a presentation at the plenary session "International Cooperation – Partnership for the Future of the Arctic" at the III Arctic–Regions Forum, which is currently taking place in Arkhangelsk.
"The Arctic is not just a territory, it is Russia's storehouse.: 76% of gas, 21% of oil, 60% of rare earth metals. But its riches cannot be mastered without large-scale investments and attracting people. You can't raise the north with a watch. As part of the strategic plan "Live in the North!" we managed to reverse the trend of population outflow from the Murmansk Region, starting in 2023, it began to slow down for the first time since the Soviet Union. We must understand that if we do everything right, we will have population growth due to high salaries, jobs, modern technologies in production and a comfortable life in cities. I would like to thank Alexey Chekunkov separately for his assistance in the work related to the main cities, master plans and individual national projects - all of which were supported by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin," Andrey Chibis emphasized.
The Governor presented strategic initiatives for the development of the region. The Murmansk Region has seen an increase in trade with China and India, as well as established cooperation with the Republic of Belarus and the SCO. To attract foreign investment, Andrey Chibis proposed extending the International Territory of Advanced Development regime, which has already been approved for the Far East, to the Arctic, which will provide tax incentives and protect investments.
The head of the region also spoke about the work of the State Council Commission on the NSR and the Arctic, established by decree of the President of the Russian Federation. Her decisions formed the basis of Vladimir Putin's instructions after the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, including: increasing the capacity of the Murmansk transport hub to 100 million tons of cargo by 2030, developing the Transarctic Transport Corridor and Arctic master plans, as well as the renovation of military garrisons in the Arctic until 2030.
To consolidate efforts, Andrey Chibis proposed launching an analog of the Soviet Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route, a centralized structure for coordinating the development of the Russian Arctic and the TTC. According to the governor, it is this model that will make it possible to realize the full potential of the Arctic in the new geopolitical conditions.
The Murmansk Region today occupies a key strategic position in the Arctic and plays a leading role in its development. Over the past 6 years, we have managed to attract 1.5 trillion rubles, and the investment portfolio for 10 years is about 3.2 trillion rubles. There are about 300 companies operating in the region -residents of advanced development territories and the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. They plan to invest more than 603 billion rubles in the economy and create over 14.6 thousand new jobs.
Murmansk Seaport is Russia's largest ice–free Arctic port with deep-water berths, which serves as a key base for the nuclear icebreaking fleet. The Lavna coal terminal is actively developing here: more than 200 wagons have already been shipped, and transshipment volumes continue to grow. In addition, on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, gasification will be accelerated in the region by 2030, which will give a powerful impetus to the development of industry and infrastructure.
Photo: press service of the Arkhangelsk Region Government
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /