Russia and the United States possess significant potential for collaboration in the Arctic, particularly in the extraction and transportation of hydrocarbons, fertilizers, non-ferrous metals, precious metals, and rare-earth minerals, stated Alexei Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and Arctic, in an interview with RBC.

“The United States and Russia are the two largest Arctic states and leading players in the global energy market. The Arctic represents the world’s largest – yet still underexploited – treasury of valuable energy resources. It is only natural, therefore, that opportunities for joint collaboration emerge in the fields of hydrocarbon production and transportation, fertilizers, non-ferrous metals, precious metals, and rare-earth elements,” Chekunkov remarked.

According to the minister, gas processing could become a separate area of focus, as Russia currently faces a surplus in its northwestern and western regions – gas extracted in the Arctic that is no longer being exported to Europe.

“Historically, gas monetization has relied on either export pipelines or domestic markets. However, in recent years, there has been a growing recognition that gas is, above all, energy. And today, the world’s most pressing and rapidly expanding shortage is the demand for energy to power computing – specifically, for advancing artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and so on. In other words, major IT businesses are making unprecedented investments to secure their own energy sources,” Chekunkov explained.

The Minister added that it is important to bear in mind that Russia and the US remain competitors in these same markets.

“Therefore, we must avoid repeating past mistakes – I am referring to the production-sharing agreements signed back in the 1990s – and instead pursue cooperation on principles that ensure both technology transfer and Russian control over these assets,” he emphasized.