The State Council Commission on the North Sea Route and the Arctic suggested involving friendly countries in the development of port infrastructure and shipbuilding in the Arctic. This was reported to TASS in the government of the Murmansk Region.

'A proposal to expand and strengthen cooperation with friendly countries in the Arctic by implementing partnership projects in shipbuilding and port infrastructure development—both in Russia and abroad—can be highlighted,' the statement said.

In his turn, Igor Levitin, Adviser to the President, Special Presidential Representative for International Cooperation in Transport, Deputy Chairman of the Maritime Board of the Russian Federation, noted that one of the priority tasks for the development of the NSR today is to ensure international transit. 'Of course, the task one of the most important, I think, is the prestige of the country is transit. To ensure international transit on the North Sea Route—then we can say that the NSR international transportation corridor has taken place,' he said.

Earlier, Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, reported that the capacity of Russian shipyards allows to build 16 ice-class cargo ships by 2030, while there is a deficit of at least 70 ships.