The leaders of the working group are Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Deputy Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, from the Indian side, and Vladimir Panov, Rosatom Special Representative for the Arctic Development, Deputy Chairman of the State Commission for the Arctic development, from the Russian side.
The meeting discussed the targets of Indian-Russian cargo transit along the Northern Sea Route, joint projects in the Arctic shipbuilding and possible training of Indian sailors for polar navigation. The working group also drafted a memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Russian Federation for the development of cooperation in cargo shipping in the waters of the Northern Sea Route.
Reference
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route connecting the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
In 2018, the Russian government appointed Rosatom the infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Rosatom oversees the federal project Development of the Northern Sea Route and participates in the implementation of the Northern Sea Route development plan until 2035 and the initiative for the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation until 2030 Year-Round Northern Sea Route, approved by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation.
One of Rosatom’s strategic goals is to make the NSR an effective shipping artery connecting Europe, Russia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ongoing is the preparation of a federal project to develop the Great Northern Sea Route – a transport corridor from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.