Historical archive

Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports Norwegian-Russian cooperation project at Bodø University College

Historical archive

Published under: Stoltenberg's 2nd Government

Publisher: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On 25 August 2009 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to allocate NOK 1.6 million spread over three years to a project at Bodø University College. The purpose of the project is to increase knowledge about the Northeast Arctic cod stock.

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to allocate NOK 1.6 million spread over three years to a project at Bodø University College. The purpose of the project is to increase knowledge about the Northeast Arctic cod stock.

“Knowledge features prominently in the Government’s High North strategy. So does cooperation with Russia. This project will help to build valuable expertise in the field of sustainable use of marine resources,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The project will involve cooperation between Bodø University College, the University of Tromsø, the University of Bergen, the Institute of Marine Research, Murmansk Biological Institute and Murmansk State Technical University. In the course of the project, a textbook and reference books on the histology and normal structure of Northeast Arctic cod will be developed. These will be used in competence-building and teaching at university colleges and universities in Norway and Russia, and possibly in other countries as well.

“In New Building Blocks in the North the Government announced that it intends to make cod farming a priority area at national level. In this connection it is important that we have the necessary expertise to ensure sustainable development of our marine resources,” the Foreign Minister added.  

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is supporting the implementation of the Government’s High North strategy through its grant scheme under the Barents 2020 programme. The purpose of the scheme is to provide support for projects aimed at building expertise and generating knowledge in, about and for the High North.