[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 16, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65796-65798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32869]


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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]
BILLING CODE 3510-DA-P