During the official visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of Russia and the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.

The largest state organisations of the two countries will collaborate in the field of studying the polar environment and its variability. They will also provide important logistical assistance to each other in the harsh polar conditions.

The next notable joint Russian-Indian project will be the Russian-Brazilian expedition, which is scheduled to start this autumn. In addition, scientists are discussing the possibility of creating an international team for the research using a unique Russian scientific vessel – the ice-resistant North Pole platform which allows conducting long-term interdisciplinary scientific research in the North.

“‎The signing of the Memorandum was a continuation of our recent visit to India, where we discussed in detail the possibilities of strengthening bilateral cooperation in the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Russian and Indian polar explorers have a long history of partnership in Antarctica – our research stations are located in close proximity to each other, we provide mutual assistance and support in terms of logistics, without which it is almost impossible to work at the poles. 

The new document gives us the opportunity to extend our work to the Arctic region, the prospects of which are obvious to everyone today. Our colleagues from India are interested in climate change issues and our experience studying permafrost melting, since it’s a problem that India faces in the Himalayas, as well as in the development of navigation along the Northern Sea Route which will become a major global transport and logistics highway in the coming decades”‎, said Alexander Makarov, the Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

Source: Arctic Century

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