"We expect to adopt it this year," Alexander Pilyasov, an official with the country's ministry of economic development, told the International Arctic Forum in Moscow.
He added that the strategy is currently being considered by the ministry of regional development.
The strategy envisages sustainable development of the Arctic resources, as opposed to the previous strategy aimed at preserving the reserves, Pilyasov said.
"We based our strategy on a hypothesis that the world will see no real alternative to oil and gas at least until 2020," he said.
Pilyasov added that the development of the Russian Arctic sector is highly dependent on the international economic situation.
"As long as there are resources-hungry China and India, the issue of the Arctic offshore appears on the agenda," he said.
The draft strategy also calls for international cooperation, the participation of the indigenous people of the Arctic, and modernization of transport infrastructure.
MULTIBILLION DOLLAR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS
Speaking at the same event, Mikhail Slipenchuk, the CEO of investment company Metropol, said that Russia would need to attract foreign investment to upgrade the transport infrastructure in the area.
"The transportation infrastructure of Russia's Arctic region was privatized in the 1990s but the companies did not invest [in the facilities] and they have decayed," Slipenchuk told the forum.
Modernization of the infrastructure will cost "dozens of billion dollars" and Russia is likely to look at foreign markets to attract money for this, Slipenchuk said.
"We need an international consortium to invest in the area," he said, adding that Russia would retain a majority stake in any projects.
The Arctic region accounts for 20% of Russia's territory but only 1% of the population lives there, yet the region accounts for 20% of Russia's GDP, most of which is derived from natural gas, according to Slipenchuk.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
