Railway Ministers from Eastern Europe and Asia Will Meet in Berlin Today - 24 September, 2002

A conference of Railway Ministers from Eastern Europe and Asia Cooperation for the Future of Railway Communication in Europe and Asia will take place on Tuesday, 24th September in Berlin. According to the press department of the Railway Ministry, Russian Railways Minister Gennady Fadeyev, German Federal Transport Minister Kurt Bodevig, Lithuanian Transport Minister Zigmantas Balchitis, managers of the European Investment Bank and the Union of the European Railway Industry will all take part.

Those taking part in the forum will discuss the problems of railway cooperation between European countries. They will also discuss how the inclusion of Middle and Far Eastern countries in the extended European Union will effect the work of railway enterprises and their cooperation with Asian and Far Eastern railways.

According to the press department of the Railway Ministry, Gennady Fadeyev is planning to take part in the conference with a report on the role of Russian railways as the key to railway communication between Europe and the Far East.

The managers of Russian railways consider it their primary objective to connect the Transsiberian and Transkorean railways. The creation of a direct international corridor between Europe and Asia will be economically and politically beneficial to Russia and other European and Asian countries.