Second Arctic Municipalities Forum to Be Held During International Arctic Forum 2019

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The 2nd Arctic Municipalities Forum will be held as a separate event during the ‘Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’ 5th International Arctic Forum. The Arctic Municipalities Forum provides a platform for leaders of rural and urban municipalities from the Arctic and the heads of federal ministries, departments, and companies to address important issues concerning the social development of Arctic territories and establish a vertical system for collaboration on operational issues. The event was initiated by the Arctic Municipalities Association with the support of the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region Governor.

“Establishing a dialogue between the municipal, regional, and federal levels of government is an extremely important objective that will lay the foundation for the breakthrough development of the Russian Arctic once it is resolved”, Kobyakov said. “Local leaders should feel like they are on a par with the leaders of Arctic affairs at all levels of the country’s leadership and clearly understand our common objectives and the importance of developing social areas of focus. After all, this is what will ensure a higher standard of living for people in the Arctic”.

The participants in the event will discuss problems involving the development of rural and urban municipalities in the Arctic zone in accordance with the state and regional strategic programmes, improving the quality of life of the population, support measures, sharing best practices, and the participation of the region’s residents in infrastructure projects. Additional issues to be addressed at the 2nd Arctic Municipalities Forum include small and medium-sized entrepreneurship, medical care, education, and staffing for the Arctic as well as the needs and initiatives of the population of the Russian Arctic itself. Targeted work will also be carried out to develop relations among the country’s regions and improve the local self-governance system.

The 1st Arctic Municipalities Forum took place as part of the business programme of the International Arctic Forum in 2017 and was initiated by the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region Governor. “During the past Arctic Forum, we organized a pilot event for the leaders of the Arctic municipalities to talk with representatives of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers and the heads of leading Russian and international companies”, Arkhangelsk Region Governor Igor Orlov said. “And the effect was extraordinary. They felt like they were an extremely important part of the ‘Balanced Regional Policy’ state programme, which aims to provide conditions enabling each region to have the necessary and sufficient resources to ensure decent living conditions for their citizens, comprehensive development, and enhance the competitiveness of regional economies. And they also appreciated the importance of promoting territories that are a priority geopolitically”.

Arkhangelsk Region Governor spokesman Lev Levit said that the programme of the 2nd Arctic Municipalities Forum would include presentations by Russian Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Alexander Krutikov about the basic approaches in the new strategic plan for the development of Russia’s Arctic regions, by Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dmitry Kobylkin about the government’s policy regarding the region’s ecology and natural resources, and by Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Alexey Likhachev, who will inform the heads of the Arctic municipalities about plans for the development of the Northern Sea Route and the coastal infrastructure of the Arctic.

(Arctic Municipalities Association: aamun.ru)

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