Russia's Vice Premier, World Bank President Discuss Russia's Development

Russia's Vice Premier and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and President James Wolfensohn of the World Bank /WB/ discussed Russia's development during their bilateral meeting which took place in the Bank's headquarters in Washington on Monday. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister had arrived in Washington as head of the Russian delegation to participate in the spring session of the leadership of the WB and IMF /International Monetary Fund/, which came to a close on April 30. Kudrin told journalists after the meeting that on the agenda had been Russia's decision not to take budget substitutional loans from international financial organisations. According to the vice premier, Russia will be working only within sectoral loans and separate projects. The meeting also discussed the possibility of using the WB's experience to develop electronic technologies in Russia, Kudrin pointed out. In his words, in the light of this, he briefed the WB's head on the Russian government's decision to draw up a program Electronic Russia, and a separate program on supplying schools with the Internet. Besides, the vice premier noted that prominent on the agenda had been the Second World Conference on Law and Order slated for July 9-11 in St. Petersburg. The WB was among the initiators of the conference. We discussed Wolfensohn's possible participation in the conference as well as that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, concluded Alexei Kudrin.