International Conference “Innovative and Safe Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region”

On May 23rd, 2014 the 4th International Conference “Innovative and Safe Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region” took place at the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Petrozavodsk.

The conference was organized by the National Institute of Research of Global Security, Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the NP"Centre for Problems of the North, Arctic and Cross-border Cooperation". Support was provided also by the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Russian Hi-Tech Foundation, Russian Znanie (Knowledge) Society, MGIMO University of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the International and Norwegian Barents Secretariats.

The conference approached the issues of innovative and safe development in the North, touched upon the problems of industrial development in the High North and the role of cross-border cooperation in regional development. Participants made presentations on some promising areas of scientific and technical cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic region, discussed the problems of international relations influencing the development of northern regions.

The conference gathered experts from Russia, Norway, Canada, Finland, as well as students from Russia, Finland and other European countries.

Simultaneously, a joint session with the Petrozavodsk State University’s International Summer School was held on “Sovereignty in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region”, involving PetrSU, Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki, the University of Lapland. Participants of the joint session freely discussed the pressing issues of international relations in the Arctic and Northern Europe.

The unique framework of the conference enabled all the participants to engage into a fruitful dialogue concerning the issues discussed during the conference, and helped bridge the gap between the experts of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and the students who study it.

There is no doubt that the conference has significantly contributed to the promotion of cross-border cooperation in the Barents Region as well as to the promotion of the Barents Region cooperation on an international scale increasing its significance for the international community.