On December 10, the second NRCC Networking Meeting (Networking Arena North) was arranged in Murmansk. More than 60 participants representing the Norwegian and Russian Industry, organizations and authorities from both countries took an active part in both the meeting and the networking afterwards.

Consul General of Norway in Murmansk, Mr. Jon Elvedal Fredriksen, opened the meeting with a speech. Underlining the fact of increased business activities in the Barents region, the Consul General was pleased to see that NRCC continues with the networking meetings up North. He has also mentioned that several industrial sectors - not only oil and gas, but also fisheries, construction, industrial production, technology cooperation, and many other sectors - are of big importance for the bilateral Norwegian-Russian business relations.

Mrs. Therese Holm Thorvaldsen from Oslo Teknopol had a lecture about doing business in Norway and business opportunities in the Oslo region. She underlined that the Norwegian economy is open for foreign investments from all countries, including Russia. Next speaker, Chairman Mr. Vitaly Kasatkin from the Fishermen Union in the North, talked about challenges and prospects in the fisheries sector in the Murmansk region. Ms. Yevgenia Shumilova, Economist from the Karelian Sea Products, presented several Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects.

Det norske Veritas (DNV) with Mr. Sergey Gulin and Ms. Alexandra Bozhatkina, spoke about the DNV activities and services in the Russian market. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Fund (FHF) and the Director Mr. Terje Flatoy focuses on several developing activities within the sector, and mentioned about cooperation projects with Russian partners. Consul Commercial Affairs of Norway in Murmansk, Mr. Knut Mugaas, talked about business opportunities for the Norwegian industry but also focused on problematic business environment in the Russian market.

Finally, Managing Director of the NRCC, Mr. Jarle Forbord, presented the NRCC activities for the upcoming year and invited all the participants to the networking session.

Consul General of Norway in Murmansk, Jon Elvedal Fredriksen	Project Manager Therese Holm Thorvaldsen, Oslo Teknopol	Chairman Vitaly Kasatkin, Fishermen Union in the North

Economist Yevgenia Shumilova, Karelian Sea Products	Manager Alexandra Bozhatkina, DNV Arkhangelsk	Consul Commercial Affairs of Norway in Murmansk, Knut Mugaas