Russia and India to consider joint use of Northern Sea Route for cargo transportation to Europe
Among the promising areas of cooperation are the creation of a joint trans-Arctic container line and fleet expansion
New areas of Russia-India economic cooperation were discussed at the meeting involving Aleksey Chekunkov, RF Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, and Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India. According to the post on the Ministry’s Telegram, the meeting focused on the use of the Northern Sea Route for a reliable and safe transportation of cargo.
The potential of the Northern Sea Route and the dynamics of this route development was presented by Vladimir Panov, special representative of Rosatom. The meeting participants discussed the creation of an alternative route for the delivery of goods from India to Europe, not by the southern or western routes, but by the eastern route involving the NSR, using both Russian and Indian port facilities. It was especially noted that the cost of container transportation from Vladivostok to India is one third lower than the cost of container transportation from Moscow. Among the promising areas of cooperation are the creation of a joint trans-Arctic container line, the construction of processing facilities near the NSR and the expansion of the fleet, particularly involving state support mechanisms applied in the Arctic.
Besides, the Indian side expressed its interest to the construction of a satellite city near Vladivostok, ports, roads and energy infrastructure.
