Business programme presented for fourth ‘Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’ International Arctic Forum

The programme has been announced for the fourth ‘Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’ International Arctic Forum, which will take place on March 29–30, 2017 in Arkhangelsk.

The centrepiece of the programme is the plenary session ‘People and the Arctic’, which will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The business programme is divided into several areas.

The following sessions will be held as part of the ‘Human Capital’ thematic block: ‘The Arctic: Territory of History, Culture, and Tourism’, ‘The Arctic: Territory of Professionals’ and ‘The Arctic: Territory of Health’. The speakers include Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, Russian Minister of Education and Science Olga Vasilyeva, Russian Minister of Healthcare Veronika Skvortsova, University of the Arctic President Lars Kullerud and International Arctic Science Committee President Susan Barr.

Pressing matters will be discussed during the second thematic block – ‘Sustainable Development of the Arctic’ – with the participation of Russian Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Sergey Donskoy, Akvaplan-niva AS Director Salve Dahle, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials David Balton, Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov, Chairman of the Council on the Arctic and Antarctic of the Russian Federation Council Vyacheslav Shtyrov as well as other representatives of business, the government and the scientific community.

The third area of discussions is ‘Science and Technology’. Speakers at the sessions ‘The Arctic: Territory of Modern Energy’ and ‘The Arctic: Territory of Cutting-Edge Technology’ will include representatives of the corporations VostokUgol, BP, Rosatom and NOVATEK, Advanced Research Fund General Director Andrey Grigoryev, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov and Polar Knowledge Canada CEO David Scott, among others.

The ‘Economic Development’ block will feature discussions by Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexander Tsybulsky, Arctic Economic Council Vice Chair Tero Vauraste and representatives of the governments of the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Regions, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and the Nenets Autonomous District.

A number of special events will also be held on the side-lines of the Forum: the Arctic Municipalities Forum and ‘The Arctic. Made in Russia’ International Youth Educational Forum as well as the Arctic Business Forum and Northern Forum Governors’ Meeting.

A session of the State Commission for Arctic Development chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin will also take place on the side-lines of the Forum.

The Forum’s programme was drafted taking into account the opinions of business organizations, government and public officials as well as national and international scientific communities, unions and associations.