While the focus of Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean’s recent trip to the Arctic has been the fact that she ate raw seal heart, the main purpose of her eight day visit was the push for an Arctic university.

Cooperation in the Barents Region is a priority, Governor of Murmansk Oblast, Dmitry Dmitriyenko, said in last week’s meeting with the Norwegian Barents Secretariat.

Russian Foreign Ministry representative Mikhail Yevdokimov in a seminar last week proposed the establishment of a new energy cooperation initiative between Russia, the Scandinavian countries, Finland and the Baltic states.

Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström this week presented the Swedish EU Presidency website. On July 1, Sweden takes over the Presidency of the EU.

Vladimir Putin today arrives in Helsinki in his first visit as Russian Prime Minister. Energy, transportation and economic cooperation, will be on the agenda in meetings with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and President Tarja Halonen.

Norwegian offshore drilling contractor Aker Drilling has completed construction of two semi-submersible drilling rigs for harsh environment and ultra-deep water drilling.

As the Arctic ice continues to melt, there is growing interest in the resources of the region. While most of the focus has been on natural gas and oil reserves, there has also been some interest in fishing the area. This has also raised some concerns about the marine environment and exactly how much fish there is in the Arctic waters.

Canadian Navy Vice Admiral Dean McFadden believes that the Canadian Navy remains the strongest choice to patrol the Arctic seas, despite the fact that the country’s proposed icebreakers look a lot like its coast guard ships.

Norwegian risk management company Det Norske Veritas (DNV) has carried out a feasibility study to evaluate the possible advantages of utilizing the shorter trans-Arctic route between Asia and Europe and benchmarked it against the traditional Suez route.

Representatives from the Norwegian company Aker Solutions has visited Sevmash shipyard outside Arkhangelsk, where work on the “Prirazlomnaya” platform is being intensified.
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