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The Sixth International "Muenster" Conference of Ministers of Economy, Industry and Trade, Moscow, Russia, December 5, 2000 Fact sheet released by the Bureau of European Affairs U.S. Department of State, November 7, 2000

The main purpose of the MNP is to secure new sources of assistance to economic reforms in Russia and NIS and to increase the inflow of foreign investments into the economies of this group of countries. Previous "Muenster" conferences were held in 1992 - Munster, Germany; in 1993 - Tokyo, Japan; in 1994 - Warsaw, Poland; in 1996 - Baltimore, USA and in 1998 in Prague, Czech Republic.

The year 2000 Moscow conference is hosted by the Russian Federation Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Representatives from 23 countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA) and also a number of international organizations and multinational companies will participate in the conference.

Conference agenda includes plenary sessions and roundtables. The key speakers are: The Head of the Government of the Russian Federation M. Kasyanov, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation G. Gref and the General Secretary of OECD D. Johnston. The assessments of the MNP will be made by the Ministers of Economy, Industry and Trade of Germany, Japan, USA and Poland.

Private sector company representatives attending the conference are invited to participate in a direct dialogue and individual discussions with Ministers of the Government of the Russian Federation and managers of the top Russian companies.

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