RUSSIA: INVITATION TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPO

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001904 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EB/CIP/MA (GIBBS),EUR/RUS (GUHA) BERLIN FOR ROBERT HAGEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS ECON EINT ETRD RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA: INVITATION TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPO ¶1. On April 24 Yekaterina Slizkova, Deputy Chief of the Section for International Cooperation of the Ministry for Information Technologies and Communications (MinInformSvyazi),extended an invitation from Minister Leonid Reyman to Commerce Secretary Gutierrez to attend the October 25-27 InfoCom telecommunications conference in Moscow. During a meeting with FCS and EST officers, Slizkova said Reyman will send a letter by the end of May containing the invitation and describing a proposed roundtable of telecommunication companies and officials. She provided a list of 17 Russian agencies and companies suggested for the roundtable, which will be separately transmitted to the Department of Commerce. ¶2. Slizkova also proposed the creation of a Russian-American working group on telecommunications. The Ministry suggested the working group be chaired by a deputy minister or equivalent and meet semi-annually in various Russian or American cities. ¶3. Slizkova asked that the USG encourage American companies to consider participation in the newly created technoparks. She promised to send information on the federal and regional funding for such technoparks, their structure and operations. BURNS