MOSCOW - Russian state nuclear energy firm Rosatom and Dubai logistics firm DP World agreed on Friday to join efforts in developing pilot container shipping between Northwest Europe and East Asia through the Arctic, the companies said.

Rosatom is a designated sole infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route which it plans to develop into a fully-fledged transport corridor.

"The Northern Transit Corridor holds out the prospect of shorter transit times between East and West," Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World was quoted as saying in the statement.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy Writing by Olzhas Auyezov and Louise Heavens) ((olzhas.auyezov@thomsonreuters.com; +7 727 2508 500; Reuters Messaging: olzhas.auyezov.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))