Russia's Severny Polyus ice-resistant platform is calling on scientists from India and China to join scientific cooperation. This was stated by Alexander Makarov, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), emphasising that to date, there is already a positive experience of cooperation between Russian and Indian scientists in Antarctica. Our stations are located close to each other, which allowed us to establish productive relations—today, the AARI management intends to extend fruitful cooperation to the Arctic. The same format is being discussed with Chinese colleagues. According to Alexander Makarov, the ice-resistant platform has shown a high degree of operability in the Arctic Ocean, which makes it an excellent springboard for scientific cooperation.

In turn, the leadership of the N. Laverov Federal Centre for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that a cooperation agreement had been signed with two universities in Morocco, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez and Mohammed First University in Oujda. Scientists intend to study freshwater invertebrates. In late July, Yamal also hosted a large-scale international internship for undergraduate and graduate students in Geology, Geography, Ecology, Geodesy and other related disciplines. Young scientists from India, Iran and Pakistan conducted field studies of the region's soil conditions to form a mathematical model of permafrost behaviour.



It would seem that scientists from Maghreb countries, India and China could have any interest in the cold and inhospitable Arctic. Nevertheless, in recent years, there has been a steady increase in the attention of foreign partners from the BRICS and SCO countries to Russian projects in the Arctic Circle. For example, research to track the dynamics of climate change is critical for India. For a country with a population of 1.4 bn people and a long, densely populated coastline, changes in global ocean levels threaten a potential catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. India is also interested in energy supplies—the country imports 87% of its oil and over 45% of its gas. Even with the North Sea Route's speed advantage ending off the coast of Vietnam, India needs a stable partner to provide fuel for its growing industry. 

China is more interested in the transit opportunities of the North Sea Route, although Russian energy resources are also very useful to it (suffice it to say that China's CNPC and the Silk Road Fund own 30% of Yamal-SNG). In science, the PRC has so far been involved in projects related to permafrost research. In Yakutia, Russian and Chinese scientists have implemented eight joint projects; XY Group has expressed its desire to cooperate with Russian researchers in the fields of biotechnology, phytotherapy and energy. Also last year, Russian and Chinese scientists agreed on joint research on Samoilovsky Island in the Lena River delta. In general, China has been extremely active in the development of the AZRF—total direct investment in the Russian Arctic amounted to $90 bn over the last decade.



It should be noted that most international scientific projects in the Russian Arctic are still at the stage of either negotiations or separate programmes that are not linked into a unified system. Until recently, access to the Arctic by extra-regional powers has been significantly limited by the arrangements of the Arctic Council member states. Full-scale cooperation with direct involvement of countries from, say, the Asian region was not welcomed by most participants. After 2023, the Russian Federation took a steep turn towards openness, inviting partners from around the world to cooperate. Such dramatic changes have been received positively, but still require building relationships virtually from scratch. China, India, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran and China certainly want to participate in prospective research in the Arctic, but it will take some time.

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