Norway’s Honorary Consul in Arkhangelsk, Andrey Shalyov, together with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. (Photo: Jonas Karlsbakk)
See slide show of photos from the opening of the Honorary Consulate. (All photos: Jonas Karlsbakk)
With Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and the Governor of Arkhangelsk Ilya Mikhailchuk present, Norway’s honorary consulate to Arkhangelsk was opened on Friday in front of nearly 200 Norwegians and several Arkhangelsk citizens. The officially opening was performed by the Foreign Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre. It is the director of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat’s Arkhangelsk office, Andrey Shalyov, who has been appointed as new honorary consul.
72 years wait
It is 72 years since the last Norwegian Consulate in Arkhangelsk was shut down, under tragic circumstances in the late 30ties. Foreign Minister Støre said that since the establishment of the Barents cooperation in 1993, there has been a close cooperation on all levels between Norway and Arkhangelsk.
− The opening of this honorary consulate is the completion of the Norwegian presence in all parts of the Barents Region. We can see this as a completion of the visions launched by the establishment of the Barents cooperation in 1993. At the same time we see the need for this office due to the increased activities and the possibilities of development which we see in this region, said Jonas Gahr Støre.
Read more: The full story on what happend when the Norwegian Consulate in Arkhangelsk was shut down in 1938 (PDF-file)
An important change for Arkhangelsk citizens is that they no longer have to travel to Murmansk to get their pomor visa. Pomor visa gives visa for Murmansk and Arkhangelsk citizens without invitation. In order to apply for a pomor visa earlier, the applicants had to deliver their application personally to the General Consulate in Murmansk. As of January 1st Arkhangelsk Citizens can deliver their pomor visa at the new honorary consulate in Pomorskaya street 16 in Arkhangelsk.
Shalyov new honorary consul
The new honorary consul, Andrey Shalyov, is a 50 year old Arkhangelsk citizen who has been working for the Norwegian Barents Secretariat for 15 years at the secretariat’s Arkhangelsk office. Foreign Minister Støre said that he is certain that Mr. Shalyov, with his background, is the perfect man to bring on the historical good relations between northern Norway and Arkhangelsk.
Arkhangelsk Governor Ilya Mikhailchuk said in his spech that he welcomes the opening of a Norwegian honorary consulate in Arkhangelsk again and hopes that it will be an important factor in improving the relations between Norway and Arkhangelsk. Both Mikhailchuk and Støre highlighted that the historic and tragic history of the Norwegian Consulate in Arkhangelsk is an enormous contrast to the current relations with openness and a strong will to cooperate.
Andrey Shalyov (Photo: Jonas Karlsbakk)
