I would like first of all to sincerely welcome the heads and high representatives gathered in this hall of a number of UN-system organizations with the First Under Secretary-General of the United Nations in the lead.

We are grateful to you for responding to our invitation to take part in this meeting important in all respects. Its chief aim is to impart a new impetus to the partner dialogue and mutual rapprochement between Russian private capital and UN-system organizations. The question is one of searching for effective forms and methods of joint solution of the big problems with which humanity has been confronted in the era of globalization.

It is therefore only natural that along with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an initiator of today's meeting. For, as is known, among the priorities in the activity of the foreign affairs agency is the ensuring and protection of the economic interests of Russia abroad, including the interests of national business.

Russia from the outset gave support to Secretary General Kofi Annan's initiative for a Global Compact of Shared Values and Principles, directed to the active involvement of business circles in cooperation with the UN with a view to creating a "global economy with a human face." It is no secret that not everywhere in the world was this initiative favorably looked upon. In some places fears were heard that the enlistment of business in cooperation with the UN in the area of development, which until now has been regarded as the exclusive prerogative of states, might undermine the intergovernmental foundation of such cooperation.

We do not share those fears. In our opinion, expansion of UN business relations with the private sector is a calling of the time. The globalization of the world economy, which has become an irreversible process, has made business one of the key players not only in the world economy, but also to a certain extent in world politics. The understanding of this reality lies at the heart of the initiative of the UN Secretary General.

This initiative has become particularly relevant in the light of the global fight against international terrorism being unfolded under the aegis of the UN. It is perfectly clear that terrorism is a direct challenge to the contemporary world order, including the established system of world economic and financial ties. Therefore such a potent force as a responsible national and international private sector, by acting jointly with governments and the UN, can be an important part of the worldwide antiterrorist front, and play a noticeable role in combating transnational organized crime. Who but employers have a direct stake in this! In addition, the business community can make a crucial contribution to the struggle against the financing of international terrorism. By the way, this point was made at the just-concluded general political debate at the 56th session of the UN General Assembly. This issue was also raised at Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with US President George Bush in Washington and Crawford.

The Millennium Declaration, adopted by the heads of the UN member states in 2000, directly sets the task of fostering a strong partner relationship between the Organization and the private sector by giving it wider opportunities for assistance in the realization of the comprehensive program activity. The UN General Assembly Resolution 55/215 entitled "Towards Global Partnership," of which Russia is a co-author, sets the framework of a further search for optimal ways, areas and mechanisms of cooperation between the UN and the private sector.

In our conviction, expanding UN cooperation with private business meets the interests of Russia. On the one hand, we, naturally, count on an increase of the flow of foreign capital and technologies to the Russian economy, including thanks to cooperation under the auspices of the UN. On the other, we hope that Russian entrepreneurs too will derive from this cooperation some additional practical benefit, in particular by adopting international standards in the field of management, accounting, audit and ecologically clean production.

The importance of Russian entrepreneurs' partnership with the UN lies in the fact that it provides additional opportunities for the enhancement of their international prestige, and the establishment of new contacts with other participants of cooperation with the UN, many of whom are a part of the world business elite.

As far as we understand, the UN is already ready to offer business structures forms of cooperation which can be of mutual interest. Perhaps the most relevant among them is logistical support of UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, which presupposes participation in so called procurement activities of the Organization: the supply on a commercial basis of various kinds of goods, equipment and materials, and provision of air and motor transport vehicles and services of experts.

Another promising form of cooperation is the enlistment of private companies in the funding of technical assistance under the aegis of the UN. I mean direct contacts with programs, funds and specialized institutions of the Organizations. Thus, a useful role is to be played, in particular, by the Business Advisory Council of the UN Office for Project Services, which consists also of Russian businessmen among other representatives of private corporations.

We are aware that, as in any new undertaking, a number of legal, financial and other technical aspects of such cooperation have not yet been settled. Obviously it is necessary to lead matters to the elaboration and approval of uniform provisions for the UN governing the work procedure for its programs, funds and specialized institutions with the private sector.

But anyway we see the indubitable usefulness of the participation of Russian companies in cooperation with the UN under the Global Compact. We would welcome the involvement of Russian private structures in the support of the Organization's project activities in our country.

Thought could also be given to the creation of an organizing body of Russian entrepreneurs, say, a committee for cooperation with the UN. The representatives of business circles could themselves decide on the form of that committee.

In conclusion I would like to express the confidence that today's discussions will be useful for all the participants. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for its part, is ready to render necessary assistance with the object of strengthening the cooperation between Russian entrepreneurial circles and UN-system organizations, funds and programs.

Thank you for your attention.


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