Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, currently on a visit to Oslo, on Tuesday will attend the second ministerial meeting of the renewed Northern Dimension (ND).
This regional programme pursued on an equal basis by four partners - Russia, the European Union, Iceland and Norway - was launched in the new format at the quadripartite summit in Helsinki in 2006. The ND geographical territory covers a large area from the arctic and sub-arctic regions of Europe to the southern shores of the Baltic Sea and from northwest Russia in the east to Iceland and Greenland in the west.
The meeting, which will be held at Oslo City Hall, in essence, will be a review of recent advances in four policy areas of cross-border cooperation and coordination of plans for the future. In particular, the conference participants will "synchronize watches" on the state of affairs in the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership and cooperation in the field of health and social welfare. The debate will unfold also on a transition to earliest practical implementation of initiatives in transport, logistics and the sphere of culture. The sides will also address the process of formation of the ND Business Council and the Institute of the Northern Dimension.
