Energy & fisheries to dominate Russian-Norwegian talks.

27/4 Tass 2

OSLO, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will
continue his state visit to Norway on Tuesday. He arrived in the Norwegian
capital of Oslo on Monday at the invitation of King Harald V of Norway.
The Russian leader spent the first day of his state visit on protocol
events, which culminated with a state reception given on behalf of the
King of Norway and Queen Sonja in honour of President Medvedev and his
wife Svetlana.
President Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg are
to meet for talks on Tuesday morning. Bilateral documents are expected to
be signed. After that the Russian president and the Norwegian prime
minister will tell about the talks outcome at a news conference.
A Russian delegation accompanying President Medvedev comprises Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Natural Resources Yuri
Trutnev, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Minister for Mass Communications
Igor Shchogolev, Chief Prosecutor Yuri Chaika, as well as Andrei Krayniy,
the head of the state-run fishery agency, Rosrybolovstvo, Arthur
Chilingarov, the Russian president's special envoy for cooperation in the
Arctic and the Antarctic as well as the governors of regions neighbouring
with Norway.
Inter-governmental agreements in the field of energy efficiency,
renewable sources of energy, ecology, education and science as well as
cooperation in the law enforcement are to be signed.
The results of talks in Oslo will be fixed in a joint statement,
according to presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko. He said that key topics
for discussion would include cooperation in energy, fisheries, and
environmental protection, nuclear and radiological security.
"Strategic partnership is being formed. The key project in a
short-term perspective will be the development of the Shtokman gas deposit
in the Barents Sea with participation of Gazprom, Norwegian Statoil and
the French Total. Statoil is also showing interest in the development of
gas fields on the Yamal peninsula and cooperation with LUKOIL in the
markets of third countries," Prikhodko went on to say.
Fisheries cooperation is also developing. "Progress has been made in
working out measures to regulate the fish stocks in the Barents and
Norwegian seas. For the first time in thirty years the sides have managed
to agree on the technical parameters of fish catches on the basis of
common methods," Prikhodko said.
He emphasized that the Russian side highly appreciated Norway's
participation in projects on nuclear and radiological security in the
North West of Russia and some other Russian regions, including the Baltic
Sea.
"Russia and Norway are set to strengthen cooperation in trade and
economic spheres," Prikhodko emphasized. The world financial and economic
crisis produced a negative impact on bilateral trade, which in 2008
reached 2.5 billion dollars but then that parameter dropped. Reciprocal
trade turnover increased by 50% in January-February 2010.
International topics will also feature high during talks in Oslo. They
include European security in the context of Russia's initiative the
European Security Treaty, the development of Russia's relations with NATO,
disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change,
humanitarian aspects of international cooperation, regional problems and
struggle against terrorism and extremism.
But one question will remain open. Russia and Norway are not going to
sign a document on the demarcation of the border in the southern part of
the Barents Sea though Moscow hopes for a constructive dialogue on this
matter.


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