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Round Table in Syktyvkar

Syktyvkar is one and a half hours' flight east from St. Petersburg, a town that is less used to visitors from abroad than the capital of Northwest Russia. On 15-16 May 2013 the capital of the Komi Republic was the meeting place for a round table discussion between Russian, Nordic and Baltic politicians on issues such as youth policies, indigenous peoples, food safety and cultural co-operation.

May 17, 2013

The chair of the Swedish delegation to the Nordic Council, Karin Åström

Photographer
Magnus Fröderberg/norden.org

The chair of the Swedish delegation to the Nordic Council, Karin Åström from Sweden, headed up the Nordic delegation to the Round Table in the Komi Republic on the western side of the Ural Mountains. In her opening speech she spoke about the many examples of excellent co-operation between Russia and the Nordic Region, and she also mentioned some less pleasant incidents. The Nordic office in Kaliningrad experienced an inspection visit by the public prosecutor in April.

"It is worrying that the Nordic Council of Ministers' office in Kaliningrad has been subjected to an inspection visit.  I have, however, faith in the relationships we have built on trust in recent years", said Karin Åström.

Good neighbours and closer co-operation

Good neighbours and closer co-operation can be considered the main headings for the relationship between the Nordic Region and Russia in recent years. At the next Session in Oslo at the end of October, the Nordic Council will discuss, amongst other things, guidelines for the Nordic Council of Ministers' neighbourhood policy.

At parliamentary level this spring there have been successful joint events such as a youth forum in Petrozavodsk, a parliamentary Barents conference in Harstad, Norway with a large Russian attendance and a study programme for Russian MPs to Norway.

Youth policies, indigenous peoples and food safety

The Baltic parliamentarians in BSPC were represented by the chairman of the Baltic Assembly, Raimonds Vejonis from Latvia. From Russia there were representatives from the State Duma and the Federation Council in Moscow as well as the regional parliaments in Northwest Russia.

Read more here:  Vejonis at the Nordic-Baltic-Russian Round Table in Syktyvkar 15 May

Satu Haapanen from Finland spoke about the indigenous peoples and Torfinn Opheim from Norway spoke about young unemployment. Hans Frode Asmyhr from Norway spoke about cultural co-operation and Sjurdur Skaale, Faroese MP in the Danish parliament, spoke about food safety.

At the end of May a similar group from the Nordic Council will attend a study programme in Novgorod, where there have been Nordic-Russian connections ever since Viking times. The next Round Table will be in Stockholm next spring.

Previous Round Tables

In May 2012 a group of Russian parliamentarians met a delegation from the Nordic Council at a round table discussion in the Finnish Parliament, while Murmansk hosted the event in 2011. The first two discussions were held in Khanty-Mansiysk in Siberia in June 2009 and in Bergen in May 2010. The main topics of discussion then were energy and the environment.

The Nordic Council of Ministers in Russia
The Nordic Council of Ministers has information offices in Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad, as well as smaller InfoPoints in Murmansk, Archangel, and Petrozavodsk in Karelia.

Contacts

Torkil Sørensen
Phone +45 24 69 94 57
Email ts@norden.org