The XII International Forum "The Arctic: Present and Future" is taking place in St. Petersburg today. The Governor of the Murmansk region Andrey Chibis took part in the plenary session: "Heading North: the time for the realization of Arctic opportunities."
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic; President of the Interregional Public Organization "Association of Polar Explorers" Artur Chilingarov sent a welcome address to the participants.
"The Arctic is not only our present, but also our future. We see that the issues of sustainable development of the Arctic are of concern to public and scientific organizations from all over the world. I am sure that together we will be able to find common ground," the welcoming speech says.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov stressed that the development of the Arctic is a matter of strategic stability and security.
The report was made by the head of the Ministry of Regional Development Alexey Chekunkov. The Minister noted the importance of the Murmansk Region in the development of the Arctic. Alexey Chekunkov also joined the working group of the State Council of Russia on ensuring transport, logistics and socio-economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. It was headed by Andrey Chibis on behalf of the President.
"We plan to hold the first meeting in January. The key issues will be additional support for investments and the region, taking into account the megaprojects that are being implemented today," the head of the region said.
The Governor noted that one of the most important tasks is the development of social infrastructure for the Arctic regions.
"There have been many doubts and discussions about the Arctic Hectare, but we see how the program is being successfully implemented. The Murmansk Region is the leader in the number of applications from those who want to build their lives in the North," said Andrey Chibis.
The Governor noted that the Arctic, even under unprecedented pressure, has not just prospects, but dynamics of development.
"Today there are 265 projects in the Murmansk Region's portfolio. It is planned to invest more than 1 trillion rubles in them in the next 10 years. Our task is to consolidate with the federal government and business partners in order to change the quality of people's lives ahead of schedule. The main thing is that it becomes even more comfortable for Northerners to live in such a difficult climate. This will be the main goal of our working group," the governor stressed.
Andrey Chibis thanked the Federal government and the President of the Russian Federation.
"We managed to get financing for the railway connection of the Western Shore of the Kola Bay, thanks to this, the Murmansk transport hub will become a truly logistics hub. Another major project supported by the head of state is the gasification of the region. At the moment, Gazprom is implementing pre–project work on the gas pipeline," the governor said.
Several more large–scale projects are being implemented in the region - work is underway with the federal government for the extraction and processing of lithium at the Kolmozersky deposit, an agreement has also been signed with GTLK on the creation and development of a modern high-tech cluster for the repair and maintenance of civil vessels.
In addition, the region remains the leader in the number of residents of the AZ of the Russian Federation – 180 companies and 8 more residents of the TOP "Capital of the Arctic" announced the volume of investments in the amount of 312 billion rubles and about 11.5 thousand jobs will be created.
The work of the regional government was highly appreciated by Andrey Grachev, Vice President of Norilsk Nickel for Federal and Regional Programs. The speaker stressed that the slogan "To live in the North" echoes the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation. It contains an important idea – the Arctic is moving from the economy of production to the development of human capital.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /