Russia's Arctic Council Meeting

Russia's Arctic Council Meeting From the 9th to 11th of April 2013, Russia's Arctic Council meets in Salekhard, the administrative centre of the Yamalo-Nenets Okrug in Russia. The town of 42.500 inhabitants lies close to the Polar Circle. The delegates will discuss the development and preservation of natural resources in the Arctic region. Security of navigation on the Northern Sea Route is another topic on their agenda. The participants of the meeting will also visit Franz-Joseph-Land, to see the results of environment purification, undertaken by the Russian Government. The archipelago of Franz-Joseph-Land is located in the Arctic Ocean, north of Novaya Zemlya. It consists of 191 islands with a total area of 16.134 square metres. In addition, the delegates will have the opportunity of visiting the maternity hospital for polar bears on Wrangel Island, situated in the Arctic Ocean between the Chukhchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea. This island is a part of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.