On June 6 on the margins of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum 2019, a statutory meeting of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) Public Council was conducted in the mess hall of the nuclear icebreaker Arktika which is currently under construction at the Baltic Shipyard.
The meeting was attended by representatives from executive and legislative bodies of the Russian Arctic federal subjects; major Russian and international companies operating in the Arctic, as well as scientists, public organizations and the media. In particular, the participants included Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs; Alexei Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM; Ivan Boltenkov, Deputy Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Region; Zakhariy Dzhioev, Deputy Head of Rosmorrechflot; Zsolt Katona, Director General of LLC Maersk; Sergey Frank, Director General of PJSC Sovcomflot; Mustafa Kashka, Director General of FSUE Atomflot; Alexei Kadilov, Director General of the Baltic Shipyard and others.
During the meeting, Director General of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev pointed out the Council’s role as an essential decision-making body for NSR development with due regard to the views of all concerned parties, including foreign partners.
In his turn, Director General of Sovcomflot Sergey Frank said he “supports the establishment of the Northern Sea Route Public Council”.
The participants agreed to form an Organizational Committee of the Council with Director General of Sovcomflot Sergey Frank appointed as its head.
It was announced that the next Council meeting will be held at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in September 2019.
Also, a memorandum of cooperation was signed at a special ceremony between FSUE Atomflot (part of ROSATOM) and Maersk Line, one of the world’s leading shipping companies. The event was held aboard the lead multifunctional nuclear icebreaker Arktika. The document was signed by Mustafa Kashka, Director General of FSUE Atomflot and Zsolt Kantona, Director General of Maersk JSC, Managing Director for Eastern Europe at Maersk.
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The Northern Sea Route Public Council aims at offering a platform for open expert discussion and providing the best solutions for NSR development with regard to the best international practices. The Public Council is established at the initiative of Rosatom State Corporation, which functions as the sole infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route, according to the decree signed by the President of the Russian Federation.
