Russian mining industrialists to discuss how to ride out crisis.

MOSCOW, October 29 (Itar-Tass) - Possibilities of the mining business in overcoming aftermaths of the global economic crisis in commodity industries and other economic sectors will be the key item on the agenda of the fourth All-Russian congress of mining industrialists.

The event
will be held at the Ministry of Natural Resources in Moscow on Thursday.
"This All-Russian forum which was initially planned to stage as a
festive event, devoted to the tenth anniversary of our partnership, turns
to be a special measure, called upon to orchestrate efforts of the mining
community to ensure stable operation of commodity industries under the
crisis conditions," noted the non-commercial partnership Russian Mining
Industrialists, acting as the congress sponsor.
The organising committee explained that congress participants "will
examine efficiency of government anti-crisis measures and hammer out their
own proposals on economic and organisational backing of enterprises of the
mineral and commodity complex, which will be forwarded to the president's
office, the federal government, the State Duma and the Federation Council
as well as to related ministries and departments".
It is also planned to discuss the main areas of work of the
partnership for future and to make changes in the Regulations on the
Supreme Mining Council.
The congress organising committee is headed by speaker of the
Federation Council upper chamber Sergei Mironov who is also honorary
chairman of the Supreme Mining Council. The message of greetings to the
congress was addressed by Minister of Natural |Resources Yuri Trutnev.
Reports will be delivered by president of Russian Mining Industrialists
Yuri Malyshev and chairman of the Supreme Mining Council Yuri Shafranik.
The congress will be also attended by delegations from former Soviet
republics and other countries.
According to Shafranik, "the world crisis tells negatively on the
state and operation of the Russian mineral and commodity complex. However,
the pre-crisis state of the complex was not ideal. "The reasons are
well-known: imperfect legislation, a shortage of investments, inefficient
system of state regulation and administration of operations of commodity
sector companies," he said on the eve of the congress.
In Shafranik's words, "evident is the need for forming a single state
strategic policy of the mineral and commodity complex". "We regard the
government anti-crisis policy as a system of state measures, permitting to
revitalise and to perk up related industries with the help of the mineral
and commodity complex as well as to switch over to a science-intensive way
of development," Shafranik emphasised.
According to the chairman of the Supreme Mining Council, "one new job
in the mineral and commodity complex generates nine jobs in related
industries". "We believe that this circumstance has a serious potential
for overcoming the crisis influence," he stressed.
The need for state support for the mining industry, including
geological prospecting, was repeatedly accentuated at all levels of power.
For this purpose, it is planned to establish a Rosgeologiya agency which
will unite 170 different geological prospecting enterprises.

.US ready to cooperate with Belarus, but after Minsk improves ties.

WASHINGTON, October 29 (Itar-Tass) - The Obama administration is open
for a dialogue and cooperation with the Belarussian government.
Nevertheless, the US government reckons that Minsk should cover a long way
for improving bilateral relations between Belarus and the US.
This idea was expressed by US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe
and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon, speaking on Wednesday at hearings on
the policy of the Obama administration with respect to the OSCE. They were
organised by the bipartisan Helsinki commission, operating at the US
Congress.
The assistant secretary noted that Washington paid attention to some
moves, taken earlier by Belarussian authorities, that promoted definite
easing of tension in bilateral relations. However, Gordon described these
moves as modest and claimed that they are not sufficient for genuine
warming of contacts between Washington and Minsk.
According to the American diplomat, the US waits from Belarus, above
all, for further steps to democratise its society. Besides, Washington
would like to get a chance to staff fully its embassy in Minsk, Gordon
added. In the spring of 2008, Belarus and the US "bandied" several times
expulsions of diplomats as a result of rising tension in bilateral
relations.
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