Yury Trutnev: Arctic Council Chairmanship Helps to Consolidate Russia’s Position as Leading Arctic State

Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary of the Russian President in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev recently spoke to the Russia 24 TV channel during an interview about the implementation of the development strategy for the Russian Arctic, the development of the Northern Sea Route, international cooperation in the region, and Russia’s chairmanship in the Arctic Council.

“Humankind is constantly developing and moving and is interested in new opportunities. There are a lot of them in the Arctic, in terms of minerals too. The Arctic plays a very important role in changing the situation on the planet because the melting of the Arctic ice and climate change could dramatically change the Earth and our living conditions. In addition to the states that are members of the Arctic Council – both as permanent members and as observers – interest in the Arctic is becoming increasingly active,” Trutnev said.

Taking into account the experience that has been gained from working in the Far East, Trutnev said a system of preferences has been created in the Arctic to ensure the region’s accelerated economic development. Since 2020, a total of 294 investment projects worth RUB 1.1 trillion are being implemented in the Arctic using the new preferential regimes.

“Most of them are Russian investments related to projects in the mining industry. This is how the economy and the world work: projects with high margins are initially built with quick payback periods, but we are creating new infrastructure, energy, roads, and power lines on their basis. The infrastructure that has already been created offers the opportunity to implement other projects,” he said.

Trutnev also spoke about the importance of Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023. The Roscongress Foundation is in charge of handling this chairmanship.

“The Arctic Council is a platform where you can get advice and develop common positions […]. The Arctic Council will work on the territory of Russia. More than a hundred events will be held on the entire agenda: both concerning the indigenous minorities of the North and on youth policy. Environmental and development issues of the Northern Sea Route will be discussed. The chairmanship will help consolidate Russia’s position as the leading state in the Arctic,” he said.

The full interview can be found here.