Consortium of Russian and Asian scientific organizations to explore Arctic
TOMSK. Dec 1 (Interfax) - Thirteen universities, research centers and other scientific organizations taking part in the 6th Northern Sustainable Development Forum in Yakutsk signed an agreement to establish a Russian-Asian consortium to explore the Arctic according to the press service of Tomsk State University (TSU), which is a member of the new association.
"The consortium, where TSU is a co-organizer, has two key objectives. The first one is a turn to the East. Hardly anyone is engaged in forming projects with our Asian partners, which, in turn, have a very strong interest in the Arctic. First, these are China and India, which are also attending this forum. Not only meetings, but joint projects have already been planned with its representatives," the TSU press service quoted the university's First Deputy Rector Viktor Demin as saying.
Demin described the consortium's second objective as providing legal and logistical support to Arctic projects.
"If we manage to create this type of service division within the consortium, and it is quite realistic given the participation of new members, such as MGIMO, St. Petersburg State University and others, it will help make the development and promotion of new Arctic projects as efficient as possible," he said.
The 13 universities and scientific organizations that have joined the consortium include Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yugra State University, Murmansk State Technical University, North-Eastern State University, the Ocean University of China, the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the St. Petersburg Committee on Arctic Affairs, etc.
Other Asian scientific organizations from China, India and South Korea are expected to join the consortium in the future.
Tomsk State University, which was opened in 1888, took eighth place in the 2022 national rating of universities released by Interfax International Information Group.