Legal aspects of the Russian Arctic development discussed at the 10th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum
Pavel Volkov, State Secretary and Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, participates in the forum.
1 July 2022The key goal of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum is a comprehensive discussion and promotion of various ideas of law modernisation as part of the current global agenda. As a speaker of the Legislation on Land and Real Estate session, Pavel Volkov emphasised the special role of the Far East and the Arctic in ensuring the territorial integrity and security of Russia, which makes the socio-economic development of these territories a priority of domestic policy for the entire 21st century.
Pavel Volkov drew the participants' attention to the fact that the specific climatic, geographical and natural conditions of the Far East and the Arctic require special land regulation and urban development issues for developing and attracting business, as well as creating new jobs and improving living conditions for citizens.
'First of all, our preferential regimes — advanced special economic zones, the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, as well as our Far Eastern Hectare and Hectare in the Arctic programmes — play an active role in engaging the business sector and attracting citizens to these territories. In addition to tax, customs, administrative and other preferences, a simplified procedure for granting land to residents of ASEZ and AZRF zones, as well as the specifics of urban planning regulation are also important components of the support package. We are constantly developing and supplementing them, trying not only to keep up with the times but also to be ahead in development,' said Pavel Volkov.
In his speech at the session 'Legal Basis for Arctic Development in the Context of Global Changes,' he also outlined the need for the special legal regulation of entrepreneurial activity for the successful economic development of the Arctic. The residents of the AZRF enjoy a wide list of state support measures, including the simplified provision of land plots, tax benefits, subsidies for reimbursement of insurance premiums, and the possibility of applying the free customs zone procedure.
'Our task is to create conditions for businesses to launch projects as quickly as possible, reduce the tax burden for increasing the investment attractiveness of projects in the AZRF, and provide the environment for increased competitiveness of business in the Arctic,' said the speaker.
The attention of the session participants was also drawn to the Hectare in the Arctic programme, which was launched in 2021 and is gaining increasing popularity among citizens.