Canada To Work With Russia To Meet Challenges In Arctic Despite Political Clashes - CERBA

ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2021) Canada has cooperated and will continue to work with Russia to meet common challenges in the Arctic region irrespective of the strained political relations between the countries, Nathan Hunt, the chairman of the Moscow office of the Canada Eurasia Russia business Association (CERBA), told Sputnik in an interview.

The two countries are currently tackling the common challenges they face in the region within the framework of the Arctic Council, along with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States.

"The Canadian government has specifically said that regardless of our differences on other issues, we have something in common in the Arctic, and we will be working with Russia, and we will be cooperating with Russia on the [common] issues," Hunt said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Russia and Canada, in particular, can work together to address the issues faced by sustainable communities, environmental protection, development of resources in a sustainable manner, preservation of species, as well as problems of indigenous cultures, among other things, CERBA's Moscow chief noted.

"The Canadian government is working with the Russian government in very constructive ways to devise solutions to these problems. In the Arctic, we still have plenty of areas for cooperation in spite of our political differences," Hunt said.

Enhancing cooperation in the Arctic is also seen as a priority by Canadian Ambassador to Russia Alison LeClaire, who previously served as Canada's senior official for the Arctic, he added.

This year's edition of SPIEF is taking place in-person from Wednesday through Saturday. Rossiya Segodnya is an official media partner of Russia's flagship economic forum.