MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) - Russia and China stand ready to establish a joint working body to develop the Northern Sea Route, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We see cooperation with Chinese partners on the development of the transit potential of the Northern Sea Route as promising. We are ready to set up a joint working body to develop the Northern Sea Route," Putin said.
The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between the European part of Russia and the Far East. The length of the route from the Kara Gates to Provideniya Bay is about 5,600 km.
The volume of cargo transportation along the NSR in 2022 totaled 34 million tonnes. Cargo traffic along the NSR from Russian companies increased 3% compared to 2021, to 966,000 tonnes.
Earlier, the President of the Russian Federation set the task of increasing the cargo turnover along the NSR to 80 million tonnes in 2024. Putin has repeatedly stressed that the implementation of Arctic projects along the Northern Sea Route will stimulate the development of not only the Russian Arctic, but the entire economy of the country. A number of important government decisions were made to promote the activation of hydrocarbon projects along the route, as well as the development of associated infrastructure and fleet. Among them is a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route through 2035 with total funding of almost 1.8 trillion rubles.
Representatives of the Russian authorities emphasized that the Northern Sea Route, which is 30% shorter than the route through the Suez Canal, could become a new international transport alternative, and that the Russian Federation was ready for international partnerships in the development of the Northern Sea Route.