The centre, which is operated by the Murmansk regional employment service, was opened in the presence of both Finnish and Russian guests, newspaper Pechenga reports.
The centre will have several functions, the most important of which is to help adapt the local population to the market economy principles, head of the Murmansk regional employment service Vladimir Kolesnikov said in the opening ceremony.
Support for handicapped people who want to establish small businesses will be one of the priorities. Among the centre’s foreign partners will be the Fretex company unit in the neighboring Norwegian town of Kirkenes.
Ideally, the new centre would also become a place for cross-border business cooperation between local Russian, Norwegian and Finnish companies. It remains to be seen if business support companies like the Norwegian Siva will show interest in the initiative.
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