Press release following the round table
"The Arctic. Horizons of cooperation"
February 26, 2024
While young people from Russia, the BRICS countries and even some of the leaders from Western countries are actively preparing for the World Youth Festival, which will be held in Sochi from 1st March to 7th March, 2024, the Arctic Youth project, in cooperation with the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU) on February 26, 2024, held an international event - a round table "The Arctic. Horizons of Cooperation."
The event, held in a hybrid format, was attended by approximately 50 people from Russia, Iceland, China, India and Peru. During the round table, possible priority areas for international cooperation in the Arctic were discussed in light of the geopolitical challenges that Russia has been facing in recent years.
At the beginning of the round table, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor of the Department of World Politics, Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University Natalya Yuryevna Markushina made a welcome speech. She emphasized the importance for Russia to find new possible ways to develop international cooperation in the Arctic region, among which she especially highlighted scientific diplomacy and ecology.
Also, the head of the Department for Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Relations (DMHC) of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the chairman of the Council of Young Diplomats of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CYD), Konstantin Olegovich Kolpakov, delivered a greeting. He noted that the CYD is leading a number of initiatives in the Arctic and is interested in attracting active youth, including participants of the “Arctic Youth”. He emphasized that the region is of interest from the point of view of the need to preserve the environment and climate and also for having high trade and economic importance.
After this, Arina Novitskaya, a member of the “Arctic Youth” project and a student at St. Petersburg State University, made a presentation about the project, talking about its goals, objectives and areas of activity. Speaking about international cooperation within the framework of the project, she emphasized that its participants are equally committed to interaction and communication with young people interested in the Arctic from the BRICS countries and from the Arctic countries. "Youth of the Arctic" already has experience in conducting podcasts and round table conferences with scientists from Western Arctic countries.
Next, Nikolai Sergeevich Doronin, Chairman of the Board of the Project Office for Arctic Development (PORA), made a presentation on the topic “The Past and Future of International Relations in the Arctic.” He noted that currently Indian, Chinese and Latin American companies are showing great interest in implementing economic projects in the Arctic zone of Russia, which occupies 30% of the country's territory. Opportunities for these countries have largely opened up due to politically motivated refusals of Western companies to cooperate with Russia in the Arctic. He emphasized that the Russian Arctic is a region rich in natural resources: oil, gas, metals and also occupies a unique geographical position: the country connects Europe and Asia, two completely different civilizations. At the same time, modern geopolitical challenges to Arctic security are due to western countries ignoring Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021-2023, as well as due to increased confrontation in the high latitudes. A historical retrospective of relations between Russia and the west shows that a conflict in the Arctic is quite possible: in fact, there was already military confrontation in the region during the time of Peter the Great, during the collapse of the Russian Empire and during the Great Patriotic War.
Executive Director of "Arcticportal.org" Halldor Johannsson made a presentation on the topic "The Arctic. The importance of international cooperation for a sustainable future." In his presentation, H. Johannsson noted that currently, due to events in the Middle East and the Suez Canal, the importance of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is constantly increasing. He expressed confidence that in the future there will be more cooperation between businesses and youth in this region, although today shipping along the NSR is only a small part of what is transported through the Suez Canal. NSR is a great business opportunity for Japan, Korea, India, China and Southeast Asian countries. The development of economic activity for resource extraction in the Russian Arctic is also of great importance; one of the successful examples is the Yamal LNG project. He emphasized that China is more interested in the Arctic than other non-Arctic countries. The reasons for China's interest in the Arctic are: Arctic resources, shipping safety issues (due to what is happening in the Middle East, a Plan B is needed), reducing transport and time costs for transporting goods. He believes that the Arctic Council is an effective instrument of cooperation between Russia and Western countries as work within it and the Arctic Economic Council partially continues, but at a slow pace. However cooperation with Russia continues in the areas of search, rescue and scientific cooperation. The European Union has imposed bans on cooperation with Russian organizations and this is an obstacle. However, Arcticportal.org has launched an "expert-to-expert" initiative, which aims to continue the dialogue at the international level, as well as the exchange of scientific data, such as information related to permafrost and climate change. He called for joining this initiative. In response to the question from the “Arctic Youth” “How can young people from Russia and the European Arctic countries interact with each other now?” he replied that the Northern Forum Foundation was registered in Iceland, the purpose of which is to support youth activities including youth from Russia. The foundation will continue to host online and live meetings.
Also at the event, Maria Lvovna Lagutina, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor of the Department of World Politics of the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University, spoke with a report “Prospects for cooperation of the BRICS countries in the Arctic.” According to the speech of M.L. Lagutina, Russia faces the task of diversifying international contacts and finding new partners for the development of the Arctic that could bring investment in promising economic projects. The participation of the BRICS countries in cooperation with Russia in the Arctic is largely due to changes in the geopolitical situation. The emphasis in cooperation with the BRICS countries is based on scientific interaction which is a non-politicized domain. The BRICS countries are maritime powers and are not “newcomers” in the Polar Regions, primarily due to their participation in Antarctic projects. She noted that among the BRICS countries, in recent years, Brazil has been actively promoting the Arctic agenda, which is explained by its intention to change its status in international politics - to move from the category of regional powers to the category of great powers and is applying for an observer seat in the Arctic Council. Among the RIC countries, China is the main partner for Russia. India - to a lesser extent, but also active. In cooperation between Russia and India, joint work is underway on Arctic research stations, expanding the fleet of ice-class polar research vessels and creating an international scientific and educational platform. Among the BRICS+ countries she singled out the UAE, which plans to take part in the construction of an LNG plant in the Arctic, as well as Iran because of its interest in geological research in the Arctic.
Next, the deputy chairman of the Association of Indigenous Peoples' Peoples " Ямал-потомкам! (Yamal to Descendants!)", Nechey Serotetto spoke at the event where she presented a report on the topic “My experience of international cooperation.” She reported on her experience in participating in the School of Public Diplomacy of Indigenous Peoples (SDP), after winning which she received the opportunity to participate in the UN expert mechanism in Geneva, and also received a grant of 1 million rubles for studying at university. She also spoke about her positive experience of participating in the UN Global Youth Forum in Rome at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and in the 28th UN Climate Change Conference.
The event concluded with a speech of Yu Zhang, a post-graduate student and assistant at the Department of American Studies at St. Petersburg State University, on the topic "Scientific cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic".
In her message, Yu Zhang noted that the geopolitical challenges facing Russia are at the same time the opportunities for developing effective cooperation with China in the field of shipping, resource extraction, scientific research and building humanitarian communications.
The Arctic is a "hot" topic in China. In most universities, researchers and students write about the region.
Yu Zhang stressed that scientific cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic lasts for about 15 years and it is important for the region. The most important events of this cooperation are the International Arctic School of the Harbin Institute of Technology, launched in 2019, accessible to Russian students; the annual forum, held for more than 10 years by St. Petersburg State University, one of the leaders dealing with Arctic issues, together with the Chinese Oceanological University; expert seminars conducted jointly with Russian and Chinese experts.
According to Yu Zhang, in order to develop the youth Arctic cooperation between Russia and China in the future it is necessary for scientists to become more closely acquainted with the indigenous small peoples of the North who live in the Arctic region.