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More than 60 companies become residents of Russian Arctic Zone

Most of them are small and medium businesses

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. More than 60 companies are registered as residents of the Russian Federation’s Arctic Zone. Most of them are small and medium businesses, Advisor to Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Olga Smirnova said on Thursday.

The system of incentives for the residents came into force in mid-2020.

"As of today, we have 63 residents of the Arctic Zone, where more than 80% are small and medium businesses. <…> A set of legal documents supports implementation of initiatives to attract investments in development of the territories and so forth," she said at the 4th international conference Arctic - 2021.

The expert pointed to the scientific base for the residents’ social responsibility standard, and to employment with the residents.

"Graduates from the Arctic universities - a very small percentage - 60% - go to work at companies of the Arctic Zone, and thus <…> we have offered <…> approaches, instruments, and we shall work with involved ministries to coordinate with Arctic universities numbers of students at the departments, in which employers are interested most," she said.

About state program

In late 2020, the president’s envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, said state investments in the program to develop the Arctic Zone would make 19.5 billion rubles ($265 million) to 2024. The money will be used mostly to support investment projects, which will offer 30,000 jobs within four years. A key task is to make the new jobs available for local residents, he stressed.