Cooperation Programme Between World Bank And Russia To Be Ready By March

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko announced on Thursday that the government was intending to identify the main parameters and principles of co-operation with the World Bank in December. A co-operation programme for the 2002-3 period will be ready by March next year. Khristenko held a meeting on Thursday morning with Peter Woicke, managing director and executive vice president of the International Financial Corporation, which is part of the World Bank. According to Khristenko, Russian-World Bank co-operation is currently being diversified. Both sides are aiming to minimise the use of budget-substituting loans; instead, the private sector will be supported through the independent crediting of enterprises. It has been proposed that in the future the government will guarantee operations on non-commercial risks that serve to lower the value of loans and the risks themselves and give firms the opportunity to take out loans from foreign banks. The vice-premier confirmed that the government would be following this strategy to support the private sector.