St. Petersburg will host the 12th International Forum "The Arctic: Today and the Future" on December 8-9, 2022. Its main theme will be uniting efforts to ensure a sustainable future for the macro-region in a time of global geopolitical and economic change.

Under the new conditions, synchronizing efforts and strengthening dialogue between all those involved in activities in the region, including within the framework of Russia's chairmanship of the Arctic Council, is of paramount importance for the solution of the tasks at hand.

"In an unstable world, it is necessary to unite in order to implement the tasks we face in the Arctic. Despite the freezing of cooperation by some Western partners, we are not relinquishing these tasks. I believe that non-governmental scientific and youth cooperation in the social dimension must be maintained regardless of relations between countries. There are still many people and organizations in the West who care about the Arctic and want to continue cooperation despite the position of their governments. In addition, there are many non-regional states that are willing to get involved in Arctic projects. The Arctic: Today and the Future Forum is a proven tool of public diplomacy on the Arctic projects," – said President of the Association of Polar Explorers, Russian Special Presidential Representative for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, and State Duma Deputy Artur Chilingarov.

The program of the meeting will be structured so that every discussion platform will be able to provide answers to fundamental questions of the Arctic’s modern development. The emphasis of the forum's business program in 2022 will be on responsible management under the new conditions, a search for solutions to remove the restrictions that have arisen due to sanctions, adapting to climate change, developing human capital in the Arctic, establishing an international public dialogue, and involving all Russian regions in the implementation of Arctic projects.