New Public Association "Business Russia" Being Born

A founding meeting of the organising committee of the national public organisation Business Russia was held in Moscow Tuesday. This was reported Tuesday by State Duma deputy Igor Lisinenko, who is at the head of the new parliamentary association and chairman of the organising committee of the business association bearing the same name. The founding meeting involved spokesmen for several large companies -- Surgutneftegaz, Baltika, Moscow International Telephone, Prombusinessbank, Lenenergo, Mobile Telesystems and others. Membership in the new organisation, which intends to have offices in each of the 89 entities of the Russian Federation, will not require membership fees and activities will be conducted at the expense of "voluntary bankrolling" by businessmen. The founding congress of the new association is expected to be held in St.Petersburg in September 2001. According to Lisinenko, catalyst for this new association of businessmen was the Russian president's address to the Federal Assembly, in which the head of state announced a course towards modernisation of the Russian economy. In the opinion of Lisinenko, new socio-economic and political conditions dictate to businessmen revision of their role in the present-day life of Russia, principles of interaction between society and power-that-be. According Lisinenko, Business Russia can become a center for bringing together representatives of what is called "the new wave" of business. "We want to build a bridge of feedback with the state so as it could rely on businessmen and for business to be called forth. We want businessmen to be able to speak out on the reforms underway", said Igor Lisinenko.

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