St. Petersburg Conference to Address Security in the Arctic

The International Scientific and Training Conference ‘Safety Services in Russia: Experience, Problems, and Prospects. The Arctic – A Region of Strategic Interests: Legal Policy and Modern Safety Technologies in the Arctic Region’ will take place on 27 October in St. Petersburg. The conference is part of the plan of events of Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023, which are being organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

The event participants will discuss how to ensure that the population and territories of Russia’s Arctic zone are fully safe against natural and man-made disasters, special aspects of monitoring hazards in the Arctic zone, and the use of aviation rescue technologies and the Russian icebreaker fleet to protect the population. In addition, the experts will look at ways to improve the safety and sustainability of infrastructure facilities in the Arctic zone and reduce the environmental, economic, and material effects of natural and man-made emergencies in the region. The conference will culminate with the adoption of a resolution and the publication of a collection of materials.

“Ensuring the comprehensive security of the population and territories in the Arctic region is crucial for our country. Investment projects are currently being successfully implemented in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, major infrastructure and energy facilities are being built, and the Northern Sea Route is being developed. The difficult natural and climatic conditions, vast territory, and vulnerability of ecosystems require special approaches to organizing and conducting emergency rescue operations to respond to emergencies in the Arctic region,” Deputy Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Galina Karelova said in her welcoming speech to the conference organizers and participants.

The conference will be attended by representatives of the regional departments of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the St. Petersburg Committee on Arctic Affairs, Kurchatov Institute, the Eastern Centre of State Planning, Electric Transport of St. Petersburg, as well as higher educational institutions, including Russian State Hydrometeorological University, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Sevastopol State University, and Tyumen Industrial University.

The International Scientific and Training Conference ‘Safety Services in Russia: Experience, Problems, and Prospects’ has been held annually since 2008. The conference was devoted to the Arctic in 2014 and 2020. The event is organized by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. The conference will be held at St. Petersburg University of the State Fire Service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Russia is chairing the Arctic Council in 2021–2023. A cross-cutting priority of Russia’s chairmanship is to ensure responsible governance for the sustainable development of the Arctic with a social, economic, and environmental balance. Key tasks for the Arctic include developing cooperation to prevent and respond to emergency situations. As part of its chairmanship, Russia intends to help strengthen cooperation in identifying and analysing the risks of natural and man-made emergencies, developing ways to prevent them, and improving measures to protect the population and territories against emergencies and fires.