Nordic Council of Ministers Offices in Russia

The Nordic Council of Ministers is represented in Russia through two offices and three information points. The offices are located in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad and the information points are in Petrozavodsk, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

The implementation of projects and other activities under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers involving Russia are mainly carried out by the offices in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

Guidelines for the Nordic Council of Ministers' Co-operation with Northwest Russia

The Nordic Council of Ministers' Guidelines for 2009-2013 form the basis of co-operation with Northwest Russia and were approved by the Ministers for co-operation in the autumn of 2008.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' information offices in the Baltic Countries

• The Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Latvia
• Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia
• Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Lithuania
• The Nordic Council of Ministers' Branch Office in Tartu

Nordic-Russian Funding, Initiatives and Partnerships

The Nordic Council of Ministers' Knowledge building and Network Programme for co-operation with North-west Russia focuses on promoting the exchange of knowledge, experience and skills as well as creating networks between partner organisations in the Nordic Region and North-west Russia.

Nordic Council of Ministers’ Funding Programme for NGOs in the Baltic Sea Region supports co-operation with the Baltic States and Northwest Russia within a number of priority areas. NGOs play a prominent role for the environment and progress towards democracy as well as partners in building networks and cross-border co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region.

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) offers loans, finance and funding to projects in Russia and is focused on promoting sustainable growth.

The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) is a cooperative effort of eleven governments, the European Commission and eight international organisations. The NDPHS provides a forum for concerted action to tackle challenges to health and social well-being in the Northern Dimension area and foremost in North-West Russia.

Barentsinfo.org is a portal dedicated to the Barents region, the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The site provides a large collection of links to a wide range of funding sources and is a great resource for information on the region. The portal is the result of an EU Interreg-program and is maintained by the Science Communication unit of the Arctic Centre University of Lapland.

The NotaBENe was launched in December 2010 as a project promoting cross-border economic cooperation between local and regional authorities, business community and education institutions in the Baltic Sea and Barents regions. The project is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and administered by the office in St. Petersburg.

Nopef grants favourable loans and grants to Nordic enterprises for their feasibility study expenses for international business set up and project export. The project must be located outside the European Union and EFTA countries.

The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) invests in environmental projects in Central and Eastern Europe. Its purpose is to facilitate the implementation of environmentally beneficial projects in neighbouring regions, as cross-border results also benefit the Nordic region. Projects should be financially viable and, in the first instance, based on co-operation between local and Nordic enterprises.

The Nordic Development Fund (NDF) is a multilateral Nordic development financing organisation which grants aid for development projects. It commenced operations in 1989 and is managed from offices in Helsinki, Finland. The aim of the institution is to co-ordinate the Nordic countries' co-operation in the area of development assistance.

Publications on Russia within the Nordic co-operation

The collection of published reports on Russia within the Nordic co-operation is a useful resource for information on Russian issues and topics.