Russian – Finnish Cooperation in the Arctic Discussed within the Framework of Think Arctic Project of the Roscongress Foundation

The prospects of Russian — Finnish cooperation in the field of sustainable development of the Arctic Region were discussed by the experts of the two countries within the framework of the Think Arctic Project of the Roscongress Foundation. The participants of the first online conference considered the key areas of Finland’s Arctic strategy, the current state and prospects of Russian-Finnish cooperation in the Arctic to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the light of Russia’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023.

“In 2021–2023, Russia took over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. In the same period, Finland holds the presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, which opens up additional opportunities for cooperation. Sustainable development issues are important for Russia, Finland and other Arctic countries; therefore, we welcome the new Think Arctic cooperation platform and look forward to its results,” said Antti Helantera, Finnish Ambassador to Russia.

“Based on the results of the implementation of the expert and analytical project, a list of priority areas for the strategic development of the Arctic in the context of achieving the sustainable development goals will be prepared. The results of the discussions will be presented at the International Arctic Forum “Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” in 2022 and will be taken into account in the preparation of the business program,” said Grigory Velikikh, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation.

Within the frames of the intercountry dialogue, the experts assessed the opportunities and limitations of Russian-Finnish cooperation in the Arctic, the effectiveness of the existing platforms and formats of interaction, and the priority areas for strengthening cooperation in the field of sustainable development in the Arctic.

“At this stage of the development of Russia-Finland relations, the main formats for interaction between the countries in the field of sustainable development in the Arctic will still be the Arctic Council at the intergovernmental level and the bilateral cooperation within the framework of public and private institutions. An important mechanism for fruitful work is to continue to be the Kolarctic, Russia-Southeast Finland and Karelia cross-border cooperation programs which have been extended until 2027. However, the range of areas and the portfolio of joint projects can be significantly expanded,” says the analytical material on the results of the conference.

In particular, it highlighted the Russian-Finnish projects being implemented within the framework of the Arctic Council. They include the Biological Safety in the Arctic project which started in 2021 under the direction of Russia and Finland and is being implemented jointly with the Working Group on the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP). Its goal is to develop public health systems for a timely response to the existing and possible biological threats.

The Advancing Arctic Resilience project is being implemented in the field of environmental protection under the direction of Finland, Iceland, Russia, and the United States. The project involves the development of roadmaps to eliminate the consequences of permafrost thaw.

In the sphere of food policy, the Arctic Food Innovation Cluster project within the framework of the Arctic Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) is nearing completion. The project involved development of a plan to create an innovative food cluster to meet the current global and regional food security challenges.

The conference identified the promising areas of cooperation between Russia and Finland in the field of sustainable development, among them: ecology and environmental protection, energy, transport and logistics infrastructure development, telecommunication development, tourism, healthcare, indigenous peoples and maintaining of cultural ties, science and education, entrepreneurship and innovation.

“Despite the pandemic, the relations between Russia and Finland are just strengthening, and we see the sustainable development issues to come to the fore gradually. Significant progress is observed in science and education, ESG, energy, logistics and transport. We hope that such conferences between Russia and Finland will become a norm, as they represent an excellent opportunity to exchange expert opinions in different areas and create new concrete solutions for the management of the region,” said Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Department of World Economics and World Politics of the Higher School of Economics National Research University.

Ten online discussions are planned with Arctic Council member countries (Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, the United States, Finland, Sweden) and observers (the PRC, the Republic of Korea, and India) during the Russian Chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023.

The results of the experts’ analytical work and intercountry dialogues will be presented at a special session of the 6^th International Arctic Forum “Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” to be held in St. Petersburg on April 11–13, 2022. The final report will include the promising strategic areas of Arctic development, a list of investment-attractive industries, as well as areas of the matching Arctic strategies of the Arctic Council member states to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The authors of the study will be the leading experts on the Arctic and the Sustainable Development Goals, representatives of the authorities, the business community, and public organizations. The project partners are the Analytical Center under the Government of Russia and the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the Higher School of Economics National Research University. The project is implemented with the support of the Russian Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.