Predict that the Arctic will become a major region of investment

- The fact that the Arctic agenda has been chosen as the main topic for the VII Northern Dimension Forum reflects increasing worldwide interest in the region. The Arctic today is already a significant region for the global economy, says Alexey Mordashov, Co-chairman of the Northern Dimension Business Council.

- It is an important resource for rare metal production and experts predict this will become a major region of investment for Europe in the future, Mordashov states in a recent press release from the Forums Press Service.

This is the second report in short time stating that the investment potential in the High North will continue to rise.

More than 200 delegates attended the VII Northern Dimension Forum when it was held on 7 April in St. Petersburg, Russia. 


Aiming to boost cooperation

This year the Northern Dimensions Business Council (NDBC) and the Association of European Businesses (AEB), who organized the forum, choose the theme of the Arctic an as area of joint development. During the forum the participants discussed new challenges and opportunities for the development of the Arctic. Presentations were made by both senior representatives of European and Russian ministries and departments, and company executives. The vice-chairmen of the Arctic Economic Council Tero Vauraste and Evgeny Ambrosov were special guests.

The Northern Dimension is - in short - a policy framework for cooperation involving the EU, its member states and partner countries Iceland, Norway and Russia. The aim of this years forum was to boost cooperation between the authorities, business and civil society in the participating countries.

- A long-term perspective

- The Arctic is an issue where a long-term perspective is needed. Decisions made today will have long-lasting consequences for generations to come. In the Arctic, the environment, logistics and infrastructure contain both challenges but also opportunities. A general lack of infrastructure on both sea and land is perhaps the largest barrier to development in the Arctic. Successful cooperation in this area requires commitment of all the actors - countries, regions and business representatives, says Tapio Kuula, Co-Chairman of the Northern Dimension Business Council (NDBC) and Member of the Board in the Finnish energy company Fortum Corporation.

- For the seventh time the Northern Dimension Forum is playing its role as a platform for dialogue between Russia and the EU countries, Iceland and Norway on cooperation in the Arctic region. This proves once again that our countries are genuinely interested in working together to maintain stability in the region, despite the economic and geopolitical complexities involved, adds Evgeny Ambrosov, First Deputy General Director and Member of the Board, in the Russian maritime shipping company PJSC Sovcomflot.

- I believe that the extensive experience of cooperation gained under the Northern Dimension project should be further utilised in the new and promising international organisation — the Arctic Economic Council, Ambrosov adds.


- Share a commitment

The Association of European Businesses (AEB) alone includes 65 committees and subcommittees. The non-profit organization was founded in 1995, and consists of more than 550 European and Russian companies. The members range from multinational corporations and small and medium-sized businesses.

- They all share a commitment to strengthening economic ties between the EU and Russia, as well as the desire to improve the investment climate of the Russian Federation, the press release reads.

The forum organizers have set the date of the VIII Northern Dimension Forum, and it will be on April 6, 2017 in St. Petersburg.