Building ships and using ports for bilateral trade are among the options being discussed, Governor Alexander Tsybulsky has said
Russia’s Arctic region of Arkhangelsk is in talks with India on leveraging the economic potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a top regional official has said.
“For India, the NSR is truly beginning to take on a new dimension,” the governor of the Arkhangelsk Region, Alexander Tsybulsky, told RT India on the sidelines of the ‘Arctic – Regions’ Forum where India is a key partner.
India plans to send its first cargo ship along the NSR, also called Arctic route, next year, a top official attending the forum said on Thursday, saying New Delhi sees “huge possibilities” in the route.
The options being discussed between India and Arkhangelsk include those “from building ships for India at shipyards in the Arkhangelsk region, to using our port facilities to deliver cargo from India and to export cargo to India, and technological options such as placing and locating production around the ports of the Arkhangelsk Region,” Tsybulsky said.
Located on Russia’s Arctic coast, the city of the same name sits on the Northern Dvina River and is a major cargo hub linked to the NSR.
‘For India, the NSR is Truly Beginning to Take On a New Dimension’ – Alexander Tsybulsky, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region
Tsybulsky revealed that the parties are discussing a range of opportunities at the ‘Arctic-Regions’ forum in Arkhangelsk.
The NSR is a 5,600-km sea passage that runs through Russia’s Arctic waters. It is covered by thick ice for most part of the year, but climate change and receding sea ice are widening the annual window for navigation. Still, specialized ice-strengthened ships are required to navigate the NSR.
The route could save Indian vessels up to 40% in distance and about two weeks of travel time to eastern and northern Europe, compared to traditional routes through the Suez Canal, which are facing disruptions from the Middle East conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said separately that Moscow was seeing “growing interest” from countries including China and India, wishing to engage in exploiting the economic opportunities offered by the NSR.
Russia is investing heavily in the infrastructure of the Arctic route, and Moscow is happy with the attention the effort is getting from its global partners, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said at the forum, Interfax reported.
“We can see that our Chinese and Indian colleagues are the most enthusiastic,” he said.
Cargo movement between Russia and China through the NSR has already exceeded five million tons this year, and a Chinese company will launch its first regular service to Europe via the NSR this month.
“We very much hope that we will be able to use our Arctic resources both in our own interests and in the interests of… our partners, which will make us and them stronger in the increasingly competitive global economic and political environment,” said Grushko, adding “the Arctic as a region should remain a zone of low tensions, and we are doing everything to keep it this way.”
