Know your neighbour!
Separated by borders, the people of the neighboring Sør-Varanger and Pechenga municipalities live near eachother, but still far apart. This website seeks to bring neighbours closer.
The two municipalities with respectively about 10,000 and 40,000 inhabitants constitute an area with major potential for cross-border contacts, cooperation and economic growth.
That is the background reason for the establishment of this BorderZone website. More available information about border-crossing procedures and life in the two municipalities can help stimulate new interaction and joint projects. The initiative is made by BarentsObserver with support from the Norwegian Barents Secretariat.
The website, an integrated part of BarentsObserver.com, offers practical information about how to cross the Norwegian-Russian border and links and contact information to companies, authorities and organisations on both sides of the border. The website is intended to be a permanent initiative, updated regularly with new relevant information.
The Norwegian-Russian borderland is high on the Norwegian-Russian bilateral agenda. In their meeting in Kirkenes in June 2008, both countries’ foreign ministers expressed their interest in the establishment of a visa-facilitation zone between Kirkenes and Nikel. The two ministers also opened up for the creation of a Twin City arrangement between the two towns, an initiative which is being followed up by local authorities.
More cross-border cooperation in the pipeline. Explore the borderlands with the BorderZone web.
The website is divided into the following sections:
Travel - Authorities- Business - Organisations - Tourism - Education - Leisure
You can also read a brief overview of the history of the Norwegian-Russian border. The Document section has selected documents and agreements of relevance for Norwegian-Russian border relations
