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Russian delegation to Norway to discuss Arctic interaction

A delegation of the Federation Council will meet with the country's leadership and parliamentarians
Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko
© ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

OSLO, December 05. /ITAR-TASS/. A delegation of the Federation Council upper house of Russia's parliament will arrive in Norway on Thursday for talks with the leadership of the country and Norwegian parliamentarians. Interaction in the Arctic will top the agenda.

FC speaker Valentina Matviyenko, who leads the delegation, noted "progressive development" of bilateral cooperation. Bilateral trade was worth $2.7 billion in 2012, with both countries stepping up investment cooperation, Matviyenko said.

Power generation is one of the most dynamic areas of Russian-Norwegian cooperation, she noted. "Cooperation in fisheries has long traditions," the speaker said pointing out at the successful project to jointly manage seafood resources of the Barents Sea.

Among the promising cooperation areas is the development of regional and border ties. "The process became more intensive with the easing of regulations for mutual trips by residents of border areas," the speaker went on.

Interaction in the Arctic has a priority on the Russian-Norwegian agenda. "To coordinate our countries' approaches towards economic activity in their region, as well as with the view of effective response to the existing challenges and threats we have a constant and fruitful dialogue at the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Arctic Council and also within the scope of the Northern Dimension program."

Speaking about bilateral agenda in the Arctic, Matviyenko noted that Russia and Norway had been in sea border delimitation talks since 1970. "We succeeded in signing the treaty on maritime delimitation and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean," she reminded.

The FC speaker noted productive cooperation with Norway in the economic activity on the Spitsbergen archipelago and expressed Russia's intention to continue to develop it emphasizing research, environmental protection and arctic tourism.

"In all our actions, we strictly abide by the provisions of the 1920 treaty on the status of Spitsbergen," she added.