Over 3,500 politicians, businessmen and scientists from 35 countries are taking part in the Arctic Frontiers international conference in Tromso, Norway, TASS reported.

"When searching for ‘Arctic' hits, Google shows images of glaciers and snow, northern lights, polar bears and walruses. But these photos rarely have people in them. This is far from a complete picture, because the Arctic is home to 4 million people, whose voices should be loud in the debate about the future of the region," Tromso Mayor Kristin Roymo said as cited by TASS.

The conference is being held for the 12^th time and will focus on the most pressing issues of cooperation in the northern latitudes, the development of the Arctic's rich resource potential and the conservation of its ecosystems.

Among the speakers are the foreign ministers of Norway and Hungary, Ine Eriksen Soreide and Peter Szijjarto, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson, and ministers from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The conference will also be attended by Igor Neverov, Director of the Second European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Connecting the Arctic is this year's theme, the agency reports. The delegates will discuss how the polar regions of different countries can achieve sustainable economic development, responsibly make use of the rich transport and resource potential of the Arctic Ocean, interact and learn from each other.