Good afternoon, gentlemen,
      
      I am pleased to welcome you here in Moscow and hope that this first meeting of the G8 Finance Ministers in the year of Russia’s Presidency will make a good start to our joint work in all spheres, including energy and education, and at the summit level.
      
      The 2006 G8 Presidency is one of the most important foreign policy priorities for us. We think that it is vital not only to make a new contribution but also to ensure the continuity of G8 efforts. This approach will allow us to greatly increase the positive experience the G8 has accumulated over the past years. This is how we intend to work on all issues on the agenda of the St. Petersburg summit.
      As you know, they include international energy security, efforts against infectious diseases, and education.
      
      We believe that these issues are very important for the entire international community, including our G8 partners, and, I should add, they are of particular significance for Russia, which has formulated challenging tasks of economic modernization, the development of human capital, and the strengthening of its positions in the global financial and economic system.
      
      I am sure you are aware of our overall results last year. I will repeat that the country’s GDP has grown by 6.4% in 2005, and its gold and foreign currency reserves have reached $185 billion. The surplus of the federal budget has reached 7.5% of GDP, and we have a considerable trade surplus.
      
      Leading agencies and experts around the world make favorable forecasts for Russia. We are completing talks on accession to the World Trade Organization. I hope that we will accomplish this goal. The main issue left unsettled is our talks with the American partners. I expect them to be completed soon.
      
      I would like to offer you a broad overview of the main issues on the agenda of the G8 summer meeting.
      
      International security and social and economic development largely hinge on energy. The welfare of millions of people depends on energy security, its standards and level. We hope that the G8 will formulate a coordinated strategy in this sphere, which will allow us to reliably supply the global economy and the world’s population with energy resources at acceptable prices and with minimum damage to the environment.
      
      In our opinion, we need a package of measures to reinforce the stability and predictability of the global markets of electricity and nuclear power, as well as the markets of energy resources – oil and gas. Unfortunately, these markets are open to serious political, technological and environmental risks.
      
      Another crucial task is to raise energy efficiency and saving, develop alternative energy sources, and combat the so-called energy poverty of the developing countries.
      
      The creation of a favorable investment climate and formulation of stable and transparent rules in the global energy sector are important aspects of energy security. Russia has been working on such rules and is ready to offer them for discussion to our partners.
      The other significant area is the development of a constructive dialog between main producers and consumers of energy. We think such dialog should help develop an agreed concerted effort aimed at stabilizing the market, especially at times of a crisis. What we must not forget is that, in a concerted effort, full-fledged market mechanisms must play a key role. To ensure conditions for their continuous operation is the task of the G8 and other international forums.
      
      The Group of Eight cannot distance itself from such a pressing problem as the spread of infectious diseases. These diseases cause one third of all deaths in the world. We suppose that the enhancement of the global monitoring and analysis network for infectious diseases – including emerging ones – deserves our closest attention. Such a system should provide a fast response to new infectious threats to minimize human and economic losses inflicted by epidemics.
      
      In addition, we propose to adopt a G8 action plan on the fight against avian flu and prevention of a new human influenza pandemic and to develop appropriate measures to forestall the epidemics that occur as a result of natural disasters.
      
      In this context, I appreciate the results of the January avian flu conference in Beijing, which led to a $1.9-billion donor commitment to fighting this disease.
      
      We also welcome finance ministers’ proposals on having the financial and economic consequences of a possible influenza pandemic analyzed. I think agreed concrete steps to minimize potential losses for the global economic system are needed here as much as an exact forecast.
      
      The Russian G8 Presidency is going to involve an assessment of progress made on earlier G8 decisions, including on efforts to eradicate poliomyelitis and stop HIV, AIDS, and TB.
      
      It is also clear that education problems have a global scope. Improvements of quality and efficiency of national education systems is an urgent need today, a need on which the overall progress of mankind and – I would stress that – prospects for dialog between civilizations and cultures, counteraction against extremist ideology that promotes violence, intolerance, and threat of terror are directly contingent on.
      
      A debate on education also helps us reach out to such underlying issues as innovation policies, demography, and immigrants’ language and socio-cultural adaptation.
      
      With a growth rate of over 4%, last year was successful for the global economy. However, there are some reasons for concern even though the preconditions for 2006 are also good. Signs of instability have been observed in the world financial economic architecture. This problem is going to be considered at the St. Petersburg Summit, and I would like to hear your attitudes to these issues at today’s meeting.
      
      In this context I would like to touch upon action against money laundering and financing of terrorism. We propose to step up best practices sharing on these issues within the Group of Eight and to help further reinforce the relevant capabilities of third countries. It would also be important to expand the geographical scope of this work with an emphasis on Central Asia. We think G8 countries could participate more meaningfully in a Eurasian FATF-like group by sending to those countries, for example, their experts together with Russian professionals to conduct a training program there.
      
      The Russian Presidency also intends to put so-called development facilitation issues on the agenda. We have been following these issues closely in recent years, and Russia plans to step up its role in international efforts in this field. Just days ago, we made principal decisions on our financial participation in the IMF program assisting poor countries affected by external financial, economic and technological shocks, allocating a voluntary contribution of 30 million special drawing rights, a rough equivalent of $43.5 million, in 2006-2010.
      
      I would also like to draw your attention to another initiative which we have launched and which I think will facilitate the development of poor countries. I am referring to Russia’s willingness to make the next payment to the Paris Club – up to $11.9 billion - ahead of schedule. I know that Mr. Kudrin has discussed this with you and I am interested to hear your opinions, so I think a little later you will be able to air your attitudes to the issue.
      
      Some creditor nations are known to be short of free financial assets today, and they could use the assets they receive from Russia to honor their poor countries’ debt relief compensation commitments to the International Development Association. Fiscally and technologically, this is easy to do because if Russia pays ahead of schedule, the money is not accounted in your current national budgets.
      
      For its part, Russia is ready to contribute up to $587 million to the International Development Association to cover the remaining balance deficit, the so-called structural gap.
      
      The implementation of this block of initiatives will ensure the financial stability of the IDA for at least 5-10 years, depending on the chosen scenario.
      
      The proposal will complement the G8 Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative adopted in Gleneagles, and, I stress, will not conflict with the financial and political interests of the donor countries.
      
      I believe that our partners’ support for Russia’s initiative would prove the G8 determination to fulfill its commitments to writing off debts and providing assistance to the least developed countries.
      
      I would like to say in conclusion that I am absolutely convinced the comprehensive contribution of the Russian Federation, its participation as a full member, including in the meetings of the G8 Financial Ministers, will facilitate the search for more effective joint solutions to the approaches and implementation of the goals we are facing.
      
      I welcome you all once again in Moscow and wish you a productive afternoon.
      
      Thank you for your attention.
      
      We have agreed to hold a public conference with the press, have our photographs taken, and then have lunch, where we will be able to informally discuss the issues that were raised during today’s meeting.
      
      I hope that you had a nice evening yesterday and that you will enjoy your stay in Moscow despite the cold weather.
      
      SOURCE: en.g8russia.ru