20 round tables to be set up at Baikal economic forum

Around 20 round table discussions will be organized at the Baikal economicforum that will be held in Irkutsk on September 17-20, 2002, head of theIndustrial Policy Committee of the Russian Federation Council ValentinZavadnikov said at a press conference in Moscow today. The upcoming forumshould be "more focused and more distinctly oriented", the official pointedout. "We are trying to bring together more experts than high-profileguests", Zavadnikov said. During the forum the proposals of structuralreforms in the energy sector and natural monopolies will be discussed.According to the Federation Council official, by the end of this year aconcept of the telecommunications reform should be prepared, and after that- a gas market reform concept. The participants of the forum will alsodiscuss such issues as the free market's capability to compensate forpossible negative consequences, the mechanism of different market models,the network carrying capacity market and the establishment of the "public"resources market (land, forest, radio frequencies, transport corridors,highways etc.).