During a working dinner with diplomats from Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the head of the region Andrei Chibis presented the investment potential of the Murmansk region. The event was also attended by Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Nikolai Korchunov and representatives of large companies operating in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation.

"On behalf of the Murmansk Region and the regional government, I welcome you to the Kola Arctic. I think that following your visit, we will find new points of mutual growth and niches for cooperation. For our part, we will provide the necessary support to business projects that will be useful for the development of the Murmansk Region," Andrey Chibis greeted the guests.

Among the region's advantages, the governor highlighted direct access to the World Ocean and the Northern Sea Route without passing through international straits, proximity to St. Petersburg and Moscow, a deep-water ice-free port, and a developed system of highways and railways.

"The port of Murmansk is the base for the Northern Sea Route, the volume of transshipment at the end of last year exceeded 56 million tons. Despite all the restrictions and sanctions pressure, it is among the five largest ports in Russia in terms of transshipment volume. In addition, to develop our logistics potential, with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the federal government, we are implementing the project "Integrated Development of the Murmansk Transport Hub". By 2030, it is expected to increase the volume of cargo transshipment to 80 million tons. MTU, the new port "Lavna" are in the active stage of construction, the readiness of key facilities is more than 80%, the launch of work traffic is planned for the end of this year," noted Andrey Chibis.

Andrey Chibis emphasized that strategic projects are actively developing in the region: the construction of the Tuloma terminal for transshipment of mineral fertilizers, the creation of a container terminal, and many others. Another important component of the Murmansk Region economy is the resource base. The Governor also noted that large reserves of rare earth resources are concentrated in the Kola Arctic. Thus, 50% of Russia's lithium reserves are located in the region. This year, they began developing two lithium deposits. The Governor emphasized that Murmansk Region companies continue to invest in the development of deposits.

"Another important project is the gasification of the region; work is underway to design a gas pipeline. Within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, we signed a corresponding agreement with the head of Gazprom. Gasification will allow us to place the production of liquefied natural gas on our territory. Such projects have already been publicly announced by NOVATEK," the governor said.

Another important area in the economy of the Murmansk region is the fishing industry.

"We have 150 companies, 7.5 thousand employees, and aquaculture is actively developing. Our companies are investing in capacity development. The Udarnik terminal with full service for servicing fishing vessels and delivering fish products is in the active implementation stage," the head of the region noted.

Andrey Chibis highlighted another important factor in development – ​​electricity.

"We have the necessary reserve capacity to accommodate new production facilities, 60% of electricity is generated by the Kola NPP, it is planned that by 2035 a completely new station will be created to replace the existing one. Also at the beginning of the year we introduced a unique project - a wind farm that generates electricity and sends it in transit to the unified energy system of our country," said Andrey Chibis.

The Governor emphasized that the Murmansk Region is the leader in the number of residents in the Arctic zone.

One of the most important projects being implemented in the region is the Center for the Construction of Large-Tongue Marine Structures of the NOVATEK company, which is the anchor resident of the Capital of the Arctic Priority Development Area.

Andrei Chibis specifically highlighted education and training of personnel for the Arctic.

"Another growth point is the development of tourism. You can vacation here all year round. Each season is attractive to different categories of tourists, the flow is stable. Last year, 540 thousand guests visited us. These are only those who stayed at the hotel for more than three days, in fact, of course, there are more. Tourism is a strong segment for the development of our economy, we invest in infrastructure, new projects and routes appear. The portrait of our tourist is a young, active person who is interested in the unique northern nature with character," the head of the region concluded.  

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Peru to the Russian Federation Juan Genaro del Campo Rodriguez noted that the Murmansk Region has large-scale potential and developed infrastructure. He expressed confidence that investors from all over the world will be interested in our strategic region.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Colombia Hector Isidro Arenas Neira noted that participation in such an educational trip to the most important region of the Arctic zone is a great honor. He emphasized that Russia actively participates in the Arctic Council and emphasized the importance of the Arctic for the development of the entire world.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Mexican States Eduardo Villegas Mejias expressed confidence in establishing ties for interaction with the Murmansk region.

As part of the working visit, the ambassadors will visit production sites of Russian enterprises, get acquainted with the main sights of the city of Murmansk, and visit the villages of Rybachy and Murmashi. The event will be held as part of the plan for Russia's chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The operator of the chairmanship events is the Roscongress Foundation.

The business program includes visits by diplomats to the Center for the Construction of Large-Tongue Offshore Structures (CLCOS), the headquarters of marine operations of FSUE Atomflot, and a branch of MMC Norilsk Nickel.

Russia held the presidency of the Arctic Council from 2021 to 2023. The powers of the chairmanship were transferred to Norway during the 13th session of this international organization, which took place on May 11 in Salekhard. In total, about 90 different events were held within the framework of the chairmanship: forums, conferences, round tables, championships, festivals and sports competitions. The events took place in all nine regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The events were divided into 11 thematic blocks, covering all promising areas of development of the territories of the northern latitudes. The plan for the chairmanship of the Arctic Council from the very beginning was calculated until August 2023, so the Russian side will hold a number of events designed to promote socio-economic development, preservation of the ecology of the northern latitudes and scientific study of the Arctic.

/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /

https://gov-murman.ru/info/news/490489/