Switzerland to Host International Conference on Transition Problems in CIS-7 Group

An International Conference on transitional problems in seven CIS-states with the lowest level of revenues will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland on January 20-22.

The CIS Executive Committee in Moscow said that the participants of the conference would discuss different issues. For instance, how to render assistance to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in forming their economic policies. They will also touch upon issues concerning implementation of anti-poverty programs, payment of external debts, development of the private sector and anti-corruption effort.

About 200 conferees are expected to attend the event. Among them will be spokesmen for the seven states' governments and representatives of their non-governmental organizations and business circles, as well as representatives of the International Monetary Fund /IMF/ and the World Bank /WB/.

An international initiative to conduct the conference was signed in Washington in the beginning of 2002. It was supported by the WB, the IMF, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as by the Asian Development Bank.

The aim of the initiative is to inform the world community about rather a complicated economic situation in the seven CIS-states and is meant to help them conduct reforms and elaborate strategies to raise the living standards.

A rescue package includes restructuring and, in some cases, write-off of bad debts, lifting of trade restrictions and more humanitarian aid.