Monday, 21 June 2010 08:53
The first meeting of Council was held on Friday. The Speaker of the Upper-House, Sergei Mironov, said that Russia was lagging behind in the formation of legislation on the Russian Arctic. Mr. Mironov said; "To date there is no law that would provide the legal basis for the development of this strategically important region of Russia."
According to Mironov, the task of the council is also to develop a unified inter-agency position on the Arctic.
"In 2008 the general guidelines concerning state policy were drawn up concerning the Arctic, and since then not even one law has been adopted which is necessary to implement state policy. It is in this area that work must be carried out in order to create the necessary legal framework." emphasized Mr. Mironov.
The deputy head of the Ministry of Transport Victor Olersky, in turn, informed the body that in the fall a test run using two loaded oil-tankers sailing with the assistance of an icebreaker will make a pass along the Northern Arctic Sea Route.
"This journey will start from the Russian port on the White Sea in South-East Asia. It will be a commercial run in order to attract the attention of shippers as to the possibility of using the Northern Sea Route as a strategic transport artery." stated Mr. Olersky.
The deputy minister added that the Northern Sea Route is the shortest route between the ports of Western Europe and Russia and the countries of the Far East and South-East Asia.
In discussing the problems of the Arctic, specifically mentioned and discussed were; the need for the close examination of major Russian and international projects aimed at the socio-economic development of the Arctic, as well as exploring issues of military security and environmental protection.
According to Mironov a matter of great importance to the development of the Arctic is investment. "In the Arctic it is necessary to create favorable conditions for the development of port infrastructure and logistics." Interfax quoted Speaker Mironov as saying.