On December 5-6, 2013 the III International Forum Arctic: Today and Future was held in St. Petersburg under the aegis of the Association of Polar Explorers. More than 500 participants and delegates from 30 Russian regions and 20 foreign countries have joined the Forum. For the third year in a row, the Forum became the main public platform for discussing practical issues of developing the Russian Arctic.
Within the framework of the Forum, the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation has submitted a report on the results and prospective directions of the state policy of Russia on the social and economic development of the Russian Arctic; sectoral federal ministries and agencies have voiced topical aspects of state regulation and appealed to society to work more closely with the authorities. Governors of the polar and circumpolar territories spoke of the need for cooperation between federal authorities, regions and businesses to develop modern infrastructure in the Arctic, environmental safety issues, as well as strategic social and economic cooperation. Representatives of oil & gas, transport companies, industrial and shipbuilding enterprises, energy, environment, heads of scientific and educational organizations discussed specific solutions for the study and development of the Arctic zone of Russia. Close attention was paid to St. Petersburg's initiative on the creation of an Arctic cluster that will solve the problems of integrated socio-economic development of the Russian Arctic zone, whose concept will be drafted in 2014.