AEC at the 2017 Eastern Economic Forum

AEC Chair Tero Vauraste and Vice Chair Evgeniy Ambrosov participated in the third Eastern Economic Forum  in Vladivostok, Russia this week.

Discussing the Potential of the Northern Sea Route, Mr. Ambrosov highlighted the recent journey made by the Sovcomflot tanker Christophe de Margerie. The tanker set a new world record traversing the Northern Sea Route without the aid of an icebreaker in just six and a half days.

Mr. Ambrosov also believes transport through the Arctic is set to increase in the future. By 2022 the estimate is 40 million tons total capacity.

As activity in the Arctic increases, so does the need to develop more infrastructure.  In his remarks, Mr. Vauraste explained how the low number of inhabitants (4 million) in the Arctic limit the capability to collect capital through taxation.  Thus there is a need for international public private partnerships and investment funds in the Arctic.

One of the overarching themes of the Arctic Economic Council is encouraging public-private partnerships for infrastructure investments. Read more about the Five Overarching Themes here.

For more information on the session please see: http://tass.com/economy/964083

Following the debate Mr. Vauraste elaborated on the need for icebreaker collaboration in the Arctic, and specifically the potential to cooperate with Far Eastern States.

Read the full article: https://sputniknews.com/business/201709071057194053-arctic-icebreaker-asia/

Tero Vauraste is President and CEO of Arctia Ltd and serves as the Chair of the Arctic Economic Council during the Finnish business community’s chairmanship from 2017 to 2019.  

Evgeniy Ambrosov is Senior Executive Vice-President of PAO Sovcomflot. He serves as the Vice Chair of the Arctic Economic Council.