Russian scientists are planning to conduct joint research with China on Svalbard, with the potential for BRICS countries to establish a research center on this Arctic archipelago in the future, according to Denis Moiseyev, science deputy director of the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute (MMBI). This is reported by Interfax.

"Currently, we are fostering cooperation with our Chinese colleagues. Last year, we signed an agreement with China's Institute of Polar Research to conduct research in the Arctic, including on the Svalbard archipelago. We are now preparing a joint grant application to the Russian Science Foundation as part of Russian-Chinese projects," Moiseyev stated at a conference on Svalbard research.

He noted that the MMBI and China's Institute of Polar Research are considering a scientist exchange for participation in both countries' expeditions. "In the future, we envision the creation of a BRICS scientific center on Svalbard," added Moiseyev.

While Svalbard legally belongs to Norway, but under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty concluded in 1920 (ratified by the USSR in 1935), Russia and Norway have equal rights to conduct economic activities there. Since Soviet times, coal has been mined on the archipelago. For this purpose, the Arktikugol Trust was established in 1931, which carries out economic activities in the region.