Jun 5, 2012 / Experience exchange – key to successful Arctic exploration Print
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Experience exchange – key to successful Arctic exploration

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Jun 5, 2012 17:31 Moscow Time

Experience exchange – key to successful Arctic exploration

Photo: EPA

The Barents Euro-Arctic Region is one of the largest regions in the north of Europe. Cooperation in this region established by the Kirkenes declaration in 1993 is interesting not only for the direct participants which are Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia but for many other countries as well. This cooperation is implemented on two levels - on the level of ministries and on the level of provincial authorities. Many experts see such an interaction as “a model of regional cooperation”. Apart from discussing common political issues it implies implementation of specific projects, which are beneficial for the region’s provinces.

At present, 14 administrative units are involved in such activities - namely three Norwegian, three Finnish and two Swedish provinces, Russia’s Murmansk and Archangelsk regions, the republics of Karelia and Komi, and the Nenets autonomous district.  In late May, Russia’s city of Archangelsk hosted a conference “Innovative and Safe Cooperation in Barents Euro-Arctic Region”, the goal of which was to look for ways of making cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region more efficient.

One of the goals of the Russian government’s policy is to ensure Russia’s leading positions in the Arctic region, which is rich of natural resources. Full-fledged interaction with neighbors in the Barents Sea area, in particular with Norway can help Russia in environmentally friendly exploration of the Arctic region, the head of the Institute of Social, Humanitarian and Political Sciences of the Northern Arctic Federal University Andrei Repnevsky says.

"We must admit that Norway has much better technology for Arctic exploration than we have. We need to work with them in order to develop ice class ship building and use their experience in building ice platforms. In the last 20 years we have been focusing on scientific and cultural contacts, but now it is time to switch to industrial activities."

Economic cooperation is one of the most important parts in developing relations between the countries of the Barents Sea region. It is necessary to promote it by actively informing the global community about the ideas and goals of this economic cooperation, Hannu Viranto, a representative of the Finnish Centre of the economic development says.

In this context Finland’s representative supports the idea of creating a regional social network with a code name “Barents.net”. It would serve as a venue for exchanging information not only for experts but also for local residents.

The whole world shows an unprecedented interest in the Arctic region. Russia, the territory of which covers the Arctic area, began its Arctic explorations several centuries ago. But no country is capable of developing gigantic resources of the Arctic region on its own, cooperation with other states is necessary.

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_06_05/77139413/