The International Arctic Forum business programme has been released. The event will take place in St. Petersburg on 9–10 April 2019, under three main pillars: Coastal Territories, The Open Ocean, and Sustainable Development.
“The business programme for the International Arctic Forum 2019 includes a wide range of events. Together, they cover every key topic which requires careful attention in order to make a breakthrough in achieving regional development in the Arctic. The programme includes sessions on increasing international economic cooperation, modernizing key industrial enterprises, social issues, and environment and climate protection. I am confident that it will provide all Forum participants with the opportunity to find about the most important Arctic-related projects and will help build a pool of international partners wishing to implement them,” said Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov.
The Coastal Territories pillar includes a series of sessions, panel discussions, and roundtables focusing on projects to increase living and working conditions in the Russian Arctic, improve underlying economic mechanisms, and identify innovative solutions to modernize industrial enterprises underpinning development in the Arctic. Among other topics to be covered will be the urban environment and technologies to support livelihoods; digitization and the future of connectivity in the Arctic; next-generation healthcare in the Arctic; developing the aviation sector in the Arctic; the tourist potential of the Arctic; support for private investment in the Arctic; supporting small business; and issues specific to construction. The Open Ocean pillar will focus on the economic issues underpinning regional development in the Russian Arctic and will be of significant interest to investors from the world’s leading countries. It will encompass sessions on the Northern Sea Route as the key to the development of the Russian Arctic; achievements and innovation in shipbuilding; bioresources of the open ocean and the Arctic fishing industry; production and use of liquefied natural gas (LNG); transport connectivity for the Arctic, Far East, Siberia, and the Urals; the potential and risks of Arctic shelf development; and developing port infrastructure in the North.
The Sustainable Development pillar will encompass events examining social development in the Arctic. It will cover the most crucial aspects related to supporting and realizing human potential and improving infrastructure for people living and working in the Russian Arctic. Sessions will focus on nature-like technologies to meet the needs of the Arctic; a responsible approach to energy in the Arctic; best education practices for indigenous peoples of the North; the Arctic as the world’s ‘weather kitchen’, livestock farming and agriculture in the Arctic; training specialists to achieve growth in the region, and applied research.
Besides, “a new system of preferences for companies investing in projects based in the Arctic region will be presented in St. Petersburg,” said Alexander Krutikov, Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic.
Official website:forumarctica.ru