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

DELEGATION DESCRIPTION

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, Russian 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 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.