The first meeting of the Russian-Chinese subcommittee on the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) may be held in October 2024, said the Special Representative for Arctic Development of the Rosatom State Corporation, Deputy Chairman of the State Commission for Arctic Development Vladimir Panov. According to him, in May 2024, following a meeting between the Russian president and the leader of the People's Republic of China, an agreement was reached on the creation of a separate intergovernmental body - the subcommittee on the development of the Northern Sea Route.
"We plan to sign the protocol in August and hold the first meeting of the sub-commission in October," Vladimir Panov said.
He noted that currently, the trade turnover between Russia and China is growing. As a result, the prominence of maritime component of transportation is also increasing. "Maritime logistics between China and Russia has a very great potential and, of course, primarily along the Northern Sea Route," he believes.
The Northern Sea Route has been identified as one of Russia's strategic development priorities. In August 2022, the Russian government approved a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route until 2035, which included 155 measures aimed at developing the cargo base, fleet, transport and security infrastructure. According to the plan, the annual cargo flow through the NSR should reach 150 million tons in 2030 and 220 million tons in 2035. Cargo transportation along the Northern Sea Route in 2023 amounted to 36.25 million tons, international transit traffic exceeded 2 million tons, according to atomic-energy.ru
Alex Shishlo, Chief Editor of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
