SPIEF 2018 discussion programme included a session of the International Arctic Forum The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue. The session titled Uncovering the Potential of the Arctic Trough the Northern Sea Route took place on 25 May.
Participants, including CEO of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev and president of United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov discussed infrastructure development and communication management systems for the Northern Sea Route (NSR), vessel safety, minimizing environmental threats in the vulnerable ecosystem of the Arctic and creating an international legal framework for navigation in polar seas. The NSR is the shortest route between Europe and the Far East, which is why countries and partners interested in the development of the Arctic region focus on transforming this large-scale infrastructural project into a convenient global transport artery with competitive potential.
President of the State Polar Academy Arthur Chilingarov remarked: “The Northern Sea Route is our national heritage. A legal framework, even if it operates within international law, must be given the status of a national transport route of the Russian Federation.”
These issues will be discussed at the 5th International Arctic Forum which will take place in Arkhangelsk in 2019.
Since 2010, the forum has been recognized as a platform for discussing the current issues of the Arctic from environmental safety to prospects of creating a transport system in the Arctic.
For more information visit SPIEF 2018 website.