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Naryan-Mar to host international conference on preventing emergencies in Arctic

Among foreign experts were invited representatives of the Canadian Transport Ministry, U.S. Coast Guard officer, as well as specialists from Norway and Finland
Photo ITAR-TASS/Semyon Maysterman
Photo ITAR-TASS/Semyon Maysterman

ARKHANGELSK, August 21 (Itar-Tass) - An international conference on problems of preventing and eliminating after-effects of emergencies in the Arctic, including oil spills, will be held in Nayan-Mar, the capital of the Nenets Autonomous Area (NAA) on Wednesday.

An official in the press service of the NAA administration has told Itar-Tass the forum will be conducted by Russian Ministry for Emergencies (EMERCOM) and will be attended by representatives of the North-Western and Far Eastern regional centers of EMERCOM, the Border Service of the Russian Federal Security Service, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Ministries of Transport, Economic Development, Energy, and Natural Resources, by executives of major mineral development companies operating in Russia's Arctic zone, and by foreign experts from Canada, the United States, Norway, and Finland.

The press service official said that they expect to discuss matters aimed at developing a safety system in the Arctic zone of Russia, especially of the work of EMERCOM territorial departments in the NAA territory and possible risks of anthropogenic emergencies that occur during the development, production and transportation of hydrocarbon fuel.

A Canadian Transport Ministry official, in particular, will report on aviation monitoring systems in Canadian Arctic, and a U.S. Coast Guard (CG) officer will speak about strategic prospects for CG activities in the Arctic zone. Participants in the conference will also find out more about Russian technologies for prevention and elimination of oil spills in the Arctic.

Anton Vassilyev, the Russian Foreign Ministry's roving ambassador and Russia’s representative at the Arctic Council, is confident that the international conference in Naryan-Mar "will be held in a warm and businesslike atmosphere which will enable participants to share experience and to discuss substantively the topical issues of ensuring the use of economic potential of the Arctic without doing damage or causing irreparable losses".