Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend the 15th ministerial meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) in Oulu, Finland, on October 14-15, the Russian Foreign Ministry's press service said.

The Barents Euro-Arctic Council was established at a meeting of Russian, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish foreign ministers and a European commissioner in Kirkenes on January 11, 1993. Russia will hold the rotating presidency in the council for two years.

"The meeting participants will sum up Finland's two-year presidency, discuss prospects for further cooperation in the BEAC and also consider ways of combining the efforts of all multilateral cooperation agencies operating in the region," the press service said.

The ministers will also focus on consolidating the Council's financial basis with due consideration for the recommendations of the BEAC Ad Hoc Working Group on Financial Mechanism Study.

The meeting will round up with a joint communique highlighting the current cooperation priorities in the Barents Region, with high importance attached to transportation and logistics infrastructure, including the Northern Sea Route.