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Russia, China, Finland, Norway, South Korea to discuss use of Northern Sea Route

MURMANSK, April 12. /TASS/. Diplomats and top executives of large corporations from Russia, China, Finland, Norway, and South Korea gather in Murmansk on Tuesday to discuss the prospects for developing and using the Northern Sea Route, a shipping lane from stretching across the waters of Arctic seas between the Kara Sea and the Bering Strait and providing a maritime haulage route between Europe and Asia along Russia's Arctic coast.

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This is the sixth conference in the Arctic Logistics series, officials at its organizing committee said.

"More than 120 participants have signed up for the event," a spokesman told TASS. "They represent transport and logistics companies, suppliers of logistics services, manufacturers, research organizations and institutes, universities, legislatures, and agencies of executive agencies of power.

A total of 36 business meetings between companies have been scheduled. Participants in them hope to discuss the ways of raising competitive of the Arctic Sea Route and ramification of the haulage and logistics infrastructures in the region.

Special attention will be given to international cooperation in the prevention of emergency situations and in rescue operations in the Arctic areas.

Main reports will be made by executive and experts from the Russian shipping lines and companies Atomflot, Rosmorport, Gazpromneft-Sakhalin, Gazflot, and Sovcomflot.

Officials at the Murmansk region administration told TASS earlier the sea haulage opportunities offered by the Northern Sea Route have been arousing an ever bigger interest among Russian corporations and foreign countries in recent years. Particular attention is given in the Murmansk region to international cooperation and close contacts have been established with this context with Norway, Finland and Sweden but local officials and experts are scrutinizing an impressive potential of ties with with Asian partners.

In one of the latest instances of efforts in the Asian direction, talks have held in Murmansk with a Japanese delegation. The sides gave focus to haulage on the Northern Sea Route at present and to the prospects for future increases of the volume.

The Japanese also showed interest towards deliveries of crab and other marine products by the Northern Sea Route.

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