Forum «Arctic: Today and the Future» kicked off in Saint-Petersburg

The IX international forum “Arctic: Today and the future”, a key public event dedicated to the development of the Arctic zone of Russia, opens today in St. Petersburg. The discussion platforms of the forum will bring together about 2500 delegates from 40 subjects of Russia, including all the Arctic regions.

The governors and relevant regional authorities, 8 federal ministries, 15 departments, 25 senators and deputies of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation will take part in the business program. This year, representatives of public organizations showed increased interest, their total number at the forum will be more than 700 people. In addition, 22 countries of the European Union, BRICS and Asia-Pacific region will send their delegations to the forum.

Significant public attention to the event is due to the fact that key documents, that will determine the development of the Arctic zone of Russia for decades to come, will be presented at the forum.

Ministry for Development of Russian Far East will talk about the basics of state policy, which will outline Russia's national interests in the Arctic zone, about the development strategy of the Arctic until 2035, the work on it was completed by the department in late November, about the new state program for the socio-economic development of the macroregion and the draft federal law on special economic regime in the Arctic.

The plenary session "New horizons of state policy in the Arctic» will be the key event of the first day of the forum. It will be opened by the president of the Association of Polar Explorers, special representative of the President of Russia in the Arctic and Antarctic Artur Chilingarov.

«A new strategy, new mechanisms and incentives for development are laid in the legislative basis of state policy in the Arctic today. It will be discussed at our forum, which traditionally has been a link between all parties interested in the development of the Arctic territories», - Artur Chilingarov emphasized.

Honorary places on the presidium of the plenary meeting will also be taken by the Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexander Kozlov, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Regional Policy and Problems of the North and the Far East Nikolai Kharitonov, the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, the General Director of MegaFon Gevork Vermishyan, President of the Union of the cities of the Arctic and the Far North, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Igor Shpector.

In support of the business program, a large-scale exposition will be launched in the exhibition space of the forum. Leading companies that develop the polar region and the Arctic regions will demonstrate their developments and technologies. They will show equipment designed to work in difficult climatic conditions, samples of the latest icebreaking class ships, aircraft prepared for work in extreme climates, super-passable cars and all-terrain vehicles.

In total, 19 panel and working sessions, round tables, and conferences will be held on the first day of the forum. More than 300 experts and speakers will speak on topical issues on the Arctic agenda.

Megafon, Gazprom Neft and Novatek are the partners of the forum. Russia Today and the Russian News Agency TASS are the general informational partners of the forum.