In late March 2001 the Executive Committee of the Northern Forum held a
regular business meeting near Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Igor S.
Ivanov participated in the meeting and made the following remarks. This
is the second meeting between the Minister and the Forum's leaders
during the past several months.
The Forum will hold its 5th General Assembly and 10th Anniversary
celebration in Alberta, Canada on 20-21 September 2001.
For more information about the Northern Forum, visit the organization's
website at http://www.northernforum.org or contact its Secretariat in
Anchorage, Alaska at:
John Doyle
Executive Director
The Northern Forum
4101 University Drive, CGC Suite 221
Anchorage, Alaska 99508 USA
Phone: +1-907/561-3280
Fax: +1-907/561-6645
http://www.northernforum.org
Attending the meeting were Minister Ivanov, President of the Sakha
Republic and Northern Forum Chairman M.E. Nikolaev, Governor of Finnish
Lapland and Northern Forum Vice-Chair H. Pokka, Northern Forum Secretary
General W.J. Hickel, Hokkaido Secretary General to the Governor H.
Sugawara, Alaska Governor's Deputy Chief of Staff David Ramseur,
Northern Forum Executive Director John Doyle, and other representatives
from Northern Forum regions.
The Northern Forum
Executive Commmittee Meeting
Remarks by Igor S. Ivanov, Russian Federation Minister of
Foreign Affairs
le Meridien Country Club, Moscow
27 March 2001
For Russia, the Northern Territories present important and special
problems. We face the challenge of developing these northern regions.
The development of the North is of great importance for Russia, since
the largest part of it is located beyond the Polar Circle, where vast
stocks of natural resources are concentrated.
The Russian Federation is interested in the safety of the Arctic, in its
sustainable development. Our Arctic regions need to develop in a
prosperous way. Only joint efforts can lead to the achievement of these
goals, and we mark with pleasure that all our partners understand the
necessity of the expansion of cooperation.
It is our desire to have stability in the regions. We must face the
Arctic's tough conditions, but development of the international links in
the Arctic is impossible without large-scale participation of our
country's administrative - territorial bodies [the regions].
Administrative - territorial formations are a key part of the
cooperation. Decision of all questions-from infrastructure,
telecommunications and the environment, to the protection of northern
ethnic groups, to the maintenance of vital activity of all
organizational and economic structures-is unavoidably linked on that
part. We cannot move forward without the cooperation of the regions, and
we welcome the initiatives of our regions directed to the establishment
of new partnerships among our northern neighbors.
The aim of the Russian Federation is to help the northern regions of the
country to rise on a path of sustainable development, especially in the
sector of a real economy. Russia's central government is interested in
engagement on economic development.
Interaction of the [Arctic] countries on an inter-regional level is a
condition for the development of the North. A number of subjects of the
Russian Federation borders with contiguous states. It is a zone of good
neighborhood, and we are interested in its extension.
Yet a certain geographic inbalance exists in the Russian North. There
are solid enough infrastructures in the northwest, while in northeast
they are absent. The organization of inter-regional interaction is
therefore necessary, and The Northern Forum is exactly the body that
makes an additional positive contribution in this field.
However, the capacity of the Forum, and the overall potential for
cooperation, is not yet fully utilized. So it is high time we took pride
in the 10th anniversary of The Northern Forum. A 10th Anniversary is a
good occasion to think "what else can be done?" to develop cooperation
with the Northern Forum in the interests of all Northerners.
We face challenges with the Northern Forum. Connection of the Forum with
international structures is necessary, first of all with the Arctic
Council. The challenge is to couple this Forum with the work of the
Council. In the Council, discussions about two-tiered, inter-regional
cooperation-at the national and regional levels-has reached an impasse.
In the Arctic Council there is an informal intention to involve the
potential of The Northern Forum. But there are also objections, for in
the Northern Forum are members from a number of non-Arctic states. In
the Council there is an apprehension of an infringement on the rights of
its members, and an apprehension that the concept of the North, its
particular problems and solutions, may be "washed away."
We face the challenge of making well-informed decisions in the Arctic.
Another challenge involves coupling the Forum with the Northern
Dimension of the European Union. In the framework of the EU, in early
April a special session of the ministers of the European Union and
Russia will be held in Luxembourg. The idea is to realize practical
results, in the concrete projects and their financing, in the interests
of the whole region of northwest Russia and contiguous territories. This
work should be recovered, for we face a large complex of issues. And
this work requires more cooperation. In this, the Swedish chair of the
European Union can help. We are going to strengthen expansion of
participation of the Russian Federation in the Euro-Arctic Council of
the Barents region. The more so, as in June 2001 the Russian Federation
starts to chair in the Baltic Sea Countries Union.
Assistance in the extension of inter-regional contacts among the
subjects of the Russian Federation through a network of representations
in districts and Russian missions abroad is a key issue for the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. An Advisory Council on
inter-regional links is working within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Today's meeting of the Northern Forum will be a contribution to the
expansion of regional cooperation in the Arctic We are looking for your
new offers on expansion of cooperation in the interests of the
inhabitants of the northern countries.
This land has huge potential. In the 21st Century, our biggest challenge
will be to use the potential of the North for the good of the people who
live in these regions.
I wish productive and constructive work to The Northern Forum. And I am
grateful for the invitation to take part in the opening of your meeting.
Thank you.