Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin named comfort of living, attraction of investment and nature preservation as the basics of his Arctic program, speaking at the Arctic: Territory of Dialogue international forum.
“I am familiar with various futuristic predictions on the upcoming strife for the Arctic. But we are carefully monitoring the situation in the region, and it is obvious that most of those scenarios have no real grounds whatsoever,” Putin said.
He noted that Russian explorers reached the North Sea back in the 11th Century, and “both history and geography have put the mission of cultivating the region on our people.”
“First of all,” Putin specified, “we are talking about making the conditions of living in the Arctic of good quality and comfortable. This includes careful approach to the traditions of the indigenous people of the Arctic and their economic set-up, while developing the social sphere, the educational and healthcare systems, and forming of the informational environment.”
The second state priority in the Arctic will be supporting new points of economic growth in the region, attracting large investment from Russia and abroad.
“At the same time, I’d like to stress: not a single industrial Arctic project will be realized without considering the toughest ecological requirements. That is a basic principle which we will apply, while cultivating the north of Krasnoyar Region, Yakutia, the Yamal Peninsula and the Shtokman gas field,” Putin stated.
He expects the arctic to become one of the main sources of energy and a key transport hub in 50 years.
Read the full story at RussiaToday.
The event page: International Arctic Forum in Russia “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”
