Speaking in today’s meeting in the Barents Regional Council, new chair Timo Korhonen highlighted six priorities areas for his region’s leadership in the regional council. Among them are enhanced economic cooperation and a strengthening of inter-regional cooperation.
In addition, logistics and infrastructure, health and welfare, environment and climate change, and research and education will be key priorities, documents presented by Mr Korhonen show.
The Barents Regional Council (BRC) is the body which includes the 13 territorial units of the Barents Region, stretching from the Norwegian county of Nordland in the west to the Russian Komi Republic in the east. The BRC is one of the two political pilars of the Barents Cooperation.
On Thursday, the foreign ministers of the four neighboring countries will assemble in the Barents Council, the second pilar.
Timo Korhonen is chairman of the Kainuu Regional Board and Member of Parliament. He will head the Barents Regional Council (BRC) for the next two years.
The region of Kainuu takes over the BRC chair from Arkhangelsk.