Notice

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

Notice

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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Secretarial Delegation to the Fifth Session of the West-East

Conference of Ministers of Economy, Industry, and Trade, Prague, Czech

Republic, January 15-16, 1998.

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Conference Description

Secretary Daley will visit Prague, Czech Rep. to lead a combined

U.S. Government and business delegation to the Fifth Session of the

West-East Conference of Ministers of Economy, Industry and Trade. The

U.S. Department of Commerce is recruiting 4-7 U.S. firms active in

Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Newly Independent States

(NIS) for the business delegation to the Conference. The Secretary and

his combined delegation will represent the United States at this forum

which brings together government ministers and business leaders from

the industrialized Western and reforming Eastern countries of Central

and Eastern Europe, Russia, and the NIS in a joint effort to promote

improved conditions for private sector development in the Eastern

countries and expansion of East-West investment and trade.

The Conference creates a unique government-business dialogue which

centers on a private sector led Business Forum. The Forum produces a

set of concrete business recommendations for consideration and adoption

by the government ministers. The Conference also extends in a practical

way U.S. commercial and assistance programs in the region. The theme of

this year's session is ``Partners for Prosperity.'' In Prague the

Secretary also will conduct bilateral meetings with many of the

participating ministers to advance U.S. commercial interests in the

region.

The Muenster Process is intended to improve the governmental rules,

laws, and policies affecting exports, imports, and investment between

the Western industrial countries and the Eastern reforming countries

and focuses on the practical, micro-economic factors affecting trade

and investment. It first met in Muenster, Germany, May 7-9, 1992.

Subsequent Muenster Conferences were held in Tokyo, Japan; Warsaw,

Poland; and Baltimore, Maryland.

Muenster IV in Baltimore (March 3-5, 1996) was attended by 15

Ministers and over 80 private sector representatives from 18 countries.

It placed heightened emphasis on business participation and stressed

private sector views on the practical issues affecting business in

Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and the NIS. Those private sector

views were reflected in the recommendations of the Conference's

Baltimore Business Report, which was endorsed by the Muenster

ministers.

Current member countries in the Muenster Process are France, Italy,

Germany, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Poland, Hungary,

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia,

Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakstan. Croatia and Moldova

will be included in the Muenster Process at the Fifth Session in

Prague. Representatives of the European Union (EU), European Bank for

Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) also participate.

Conference Goals

1. To encourage and support the Business Forum to produce a

comprehensive, substantive report that reflects business views on the

most important economic and commercial issues in trade and investment

development between West and East and that will serve as a guidepost

for government actions in between Muenster sessions;

2. To utilize Business Forum results to obtain commitments from the

reforming country governments to create competitive trade and

investment climates, including greater transparency in procurement and

government decision-making, accelerated privatization to encourage

investment activity, measures to prohibit with bribery and corruption

in international business transactions, harmonization of standards and

testing, and increased protection of intellectual property rights;

3. To strengthen the Muenster Process as the preeminent business-

government forum for Western and Eastern business leaders and

government officials to meet face-to-face and talk candidly about the

practical actions to accelerate substantially trade and investment

activity in the region;

4. To extend in a practical way U.S. support for market democratic

development of the reforming countries and their integration into the

world economy.

5. To use the Secretary's bilateral meetings with other Muenster

ministers, as well as informal contacts, to advance specific U.S.

policy/business objectives and to advocate for U.S. firms on specific

projects; and

6. To advance U.S.-Czech relations through Secretarial meetings

with leading Czech officials and business representatives.

Conference Itinerary/Scenario

The Fifth Session will be held over a two-day period (Jan 15-16,

1997). The first day will be devoted to the Business Forum comprised of

the business delegations from each Muenster member country

(approximately 4-7 per country). The Business Forum will meet in three

sub-groups: manufacturing, infrastructure, and services. The report of

the Business Forum will reflect the consensus of the business

delegations on the most important economic and commercial issues that

need to be brought before the ministers.

On the morning of the second day, the business representatives of

the Business Forum meet with the Muenster ministers in a joint session

to present and discuss their report and its recommendations. In the

afternoon, the Muenster ministers meet in a government-only session to

discuss the Business Forum report, to set future directions for the

Muenster Process, and to review the Conference's concluding document--

the Summary of Conclusions. There will also be Conference networking

events which will afford the Secretary and his delegation the

opportunity to meet informally with other ministers and private sector

representatives.

Criteria for Participant Selection

Company participation will be determined on the basis of:

1. Past and present business activity in Central and Eastern

Europe, Russia, and the Newly Independent States;

2. Relevance of a company's business, through either trade or

investment, to one or more of the conference's three broad sectoral

working groups: infrastructure, manufacturing, and services;

3. Participation by a senior corporate representative able to

further the commercial policy of the mission as described herein and to

develop recommendations to advise the Fifth West-East Conference of

Ministers of Economy, Industry and Trade on steps that should to be

taken to accelerate the growth of trade and investment between the

Western economies and the Reforming economies. Participants should be

senior level representatives of U.S. companies who have the ability to

relate company experiences in the reforming markets of Central and

Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Newly Independent States and develop

action recommendations based on these experiences;

4. Diversity of company size, type, location, demographics, and

traditional under-representation in business; and

5. Certification that the company meets Departmental guidelines for

participation.

An applicant's partisan political activities (including political

contributions) are irrelevant to the selection process. The recruitment

and

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selection of private sector participants in the delegation will be

conducted according to the Statement of Policy Governing Department of

Commerce Overseas Trade Missions announced by Secretary Daley on March

3, 1997 and reflected herein.

Time Frame for Application

Applications may be submitted after December 15th to Cheryl Bruner,

Director of the Office of Business Liaison or Eric Schwerrin, Room

5062, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230. Phone (202)

482-1360, Fax (202) 482-4054. All applications must be received by

December 29, 1997. Applications received after December 29th will be

considered on a space available basis.

Dated: December 11, 1997.

Susanne L. Lotarski,

Director, Office of Eastern Europe, Russia and the Newly Independent

States.

[FR Doc. 97-32869 Filed 12-15-97; 8:45 am]

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