Secretary General meets Russia’s First Deputy Minister of foreign affairs

- It has been a valuable meeting and a good dialogue. I am pleased that Mr. Titov is positive regarding our 24 new projects and that we had the possibility to discuss common issues for the future such as climate changes, green energy and our youth, says Paula Lehtomäki, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The occasion was Ms. Lehtomäki’s meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Moscow. Here Vladimir Gennadievich Titov, First Deputy Minister met with Paula Lehtomäki, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers to discuss common issues such as energy efficiency, youth, green transition and education. Many of these topics are also included in 24 new projects soon to be launched.  

The Nordic Council of Ministers will fund 24 cooperation projects in the Baltic Sea region and Northwest Russia for a total of DKK 10,8 million. The purpose of the funding is to strengthen civil society and cross-border cooperation, thereby contributing to the green and socially sustainable development of our region and making it the most sustainable and integrated in the world as set out in the Nordic Council of Ministers’ “Our Vision 2030”.

The projects awarded funding focus on a variety issues, such as the environment and climate change, children and young people, gender equality, e-health. Project partners in the Nordic region and the cooperating countries include NGOs, universities, and local authorities. Partners outside the Nordic region come from the entire Baltic Sea region, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Northwest Russia, and Belarus.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has collaborated with partners in Northwest Russia since the early 1990’s. And the activities are still vibrantly ongoing. The co-operation takes place in any area of common interest and focuses on co-operation among a variety of partners in the Nordic countries and in Northwest Russia. The Nordic Council of Ministers prioritizes an open, mutual and trusting dialogue with the relevant Russian authorities on both federal and regional level about the activities.
 

Nordic Council of Ministers’ co-operation in North-West Russia includes: City of St Petersburg, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Republic of Karelia. The Nordic countries are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the autonomous areas Faroe Islands, Greenland and Aaland Islands.