Russian Premier to Focus on Economic Questions During Negotiations in Poland

During his visit to Poland to begin this afternoon, Mikhail Kasyanov will pay special attention to economic co-operation between the two countries, reported Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

He said that the gas agreement signed between Poland and Russia recently allowed them to solve other economic problems of interest for both countries. Among them Cimoszewicz named, in particular, liberalisation of the restrictive norms for the delivery of certain groups of goods, which are applicable both in Poland and in Russia.

Kasyanov and Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller will visit the city of Lodz where they will take part in the economic forum of entrepreneurs of the two countries. Taking into account the specialisation of this Polish region, the main attention at the forum will be paid to expanding the Polish-Russian co-operation in the textile and pharmaceutical industries. The participants in the forum will also discuss prospects for establishing closer collaboration between the two countries' regions.

In Lodz, Kasyanov will visit the Polish defence ministry's aircraft building enterprise, which is the main repair base for Soviet helicopters with which the Polish army is equipped. The agreement signed by the two countries on the modernisation of the Polish attack helicopter Mi-24, which is being completed, opens good prospects for this enterprise.

Kasyanov's wife Irina will accompany her husband to Poland. She and the wife of the Polish prime minister, Alexandra Miller, will visit in Warsaw the Royal Castle and the ethnographic museum. In Lodz they will see the city's sights and meet teachers and students of the musical academy.