Today's Date:

M. Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of the French Republic, paid an official visit to Russia on 22 and 23 October in the course of which he chaired with Mr Kasyanov, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, on 22 October 2001, a session of the Franco-Russian Bilateral Cooperation Commission at the level of heads of government, in the form of a governmental seminar. Taking part in the session on the French side were M. Daniel Vaillant, Minister of the Interior, M. Michel Sapin, Minister of the Civil Service and Administrative Reform, M. Jean-Claude Gayssot, Minister for Capital Works, Transport and Housing, M. Roger-Gérard Schwartzenberg, Minister for Research, and M. François Huwart, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; on the Russian side those attending were Mr Ilya Klebanov, Deputy Chairman of the Government and Co-Chairman of the Franco-Russian Economic, Financial, Industrial and Trade Council (CEFIC), Mr German Gref, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mr Boris Gryzlov, Minister of the Interior, Mr Sergei Frank, Minister of Transport, Mr Yuri Chaika, Minister of Justice, Mr Anvar Shamuzafarov, Chairman of the State Committee for Construction and Urban Services, and Mr Yuri Koptiev, Director-General of the Aeronautical and Space Agency.

In a context marked by the appearance of new threats to international peace and security, Russia and France affirm their determination to respond to those threats and in particular to join forces in combating international terrorism. The two governments, prompted by concern for their common security, welcome the intensification of contacts between all the countries of the European continent, and favour the adoption of a common approach to security issues, and the creation of a common democratic and economic area. The two Parties are keen to see the development of a close partnership between Russia and the European Union on the basis of the Joint Declaration on strengthening dialogue and cooperation on political and security matters in Europe adopted in Paris on 30 September 2000 and the Joint Declaration of the EU/Russia Summit of 3 October 2001 in Brussels. The Parties attach importance to the development of relations between the Atlantic Alliance and Russia.

The Prime Ministers of the two countries recognize the important role of cooperation in the G8 framework, particularly as concerns the problems of globalization and the fight against terrorism.

These new challenges facing the international system impel France and Russia to strengthen their cooperation in such fields as justice and the fight against crime and terrorism, and to pursue the development of an even closer economic and industrial partnership.

1. Cooperation in the field of justice and security, particularly in combating terrorism and crime.

The heads of government of France and Russia agreed on the need to give urgent attention to the fight against terrorism, organized crime and money laundering pursuant to the Joint Declaration on international terrorism of the EU/Russia Summit of 3 October 2001.

France and Russia agreed to conclude in the near future an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of internal security. This agreement will in particular determine the rules for cooperation between the two States in the fight against terrorism, organized crime and trafficking in narcotics, and will also envisage arrangements for the exchange of information and establishment of closer contacts between the relevant Russian and French services. There will be a new bilateral working group for cooperation in the fight against transnational crime.

The Parties stress the importance of the consultations taking place on money laundering, particularly as part of efforts to combat the financing of terrorist organizations, and have agreed to intensify their cooperation on these matters.

The heads of government agreed to relaunch bilateral judicial cooperation, placing the emphasis on exchanges on ways of organizing the judicial system and on criminal procedure. They note that the European conventions on judicial mutual assistance and extradition provide an appropriate framework for cooperation in the criminal field.

2. Cooperation on economic matters, industry, technology, energy and agri-foodstuffs.

The two Prime Ministers discussed the prospects for the international situation and its economic, financial and commercial consequences. In this context they called for stronger Franco-Russian cooperation, particularly with a view to the creation of a common European economic area.

The heads of government of France and Russia agreed on the great importance of completing the reforms under way in Russia in order to ensure confidence and the growth of investments. They stressed the importance of the cooperation already taking place between the two countries' Ministries of Justice concerning the legal protection of economic operators.

A few weeks away from the fourth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, in Doha, the Prime Ministers discussed questions pertaining to WTO. France and the EU support Russia's wish to become of full member of WTO and are in favour of accelerating the accession process as decided at the last EU/Russia summit. France indicated her desire to develop her cooperation with Russia to this end, particularly in regard to the protection of intellectual property and the fight against counterfeiting.

The two heads of government welcomed the resumption by COFACE (Compagnie française d'assurances pour le commerce extérieur) [French export credit insurance agency] of medium-term credit guarantees in the course of 2001 and in this context signalled their interest in facilitating priority bilateral projects. With this in mind, a COFACE mission will go to Russia before the end of the year.

The Prime Ministers agreed to mobilize all necessary resources with a view to establishing a long-term partnership in the strategically important aerospace sector. They have today adopted a bilateral declaration emphasizing their political commitment, taking stock of cooperation already under way, and identifying the priority avenues for future development.

In the spirit of the dialogue on energy under way between Russia and the European Union, the two Parties stressed their intention of assuring the development of this partnership between the two countries, and spelled this out in the Joint Declaration on Cooperation in the Energy Field adopted at the end of this session of the Commission.

In the agri-foodstuffs sphere, the two heads of government encouraged the implementation of cooperation programmes bringing together higher education establishments in the agronomic and veterinary fields, scientific research bodies and businesses in the food sector. They agreed to strengthen their collaboration in the protection of appellations d'origine contrôlée [registered designations of origin] and geographical indications, under WTO rules, and took note of Russia's agreement in principle to stop using French registered designations of origin, and of the relevance of the French practice of providing for a considerable transition period during which both designations are used simultaneously. They stressed the importance and effectiveness of the relations established between the two countries' veterinary services, especially during the foot-and-mouth and BSE crises. They favoured the setting-up of a bilateral programme to facilitate the rebuilding of Russia's herds, and a technical support programme to accompany deliveries of French suckler cows.

The two heads of government talked about Moscow's bid to organize Expo 2010.

3. Cooperation in regard to the rule of law and the civil service

Convinced of the importance of modernizing the organization of the State and the civil service, the two heads of government encourage contacts between French and Russian civil servants, and support exchange programmes and the development of joint projects in the sphere of the organization of public authorities and the services they provide to businesses and citizens.

In this context they welcome the signing on 25 May 2001 of the bilateral agreement on cooperation in civil service matters and the holding of the seminar on civil service and administrative reform, which opened this morning in Moscow.

4. Cooperation in the fields of culture, science and research. The Prime Ministers attach paramount political importance to stepping up all forms of cultural cooperation between France and Russia. They welcome the joint projects planned in the run-up to the celebration of St Petersburg's Tercentenary.

Keen to encourage artistic creation and cultural diversity, the two Parties will endeavour to develop exchanges in the fields of theatre, cinema, the visual arts and literature.

The Parties favour the development of all forms of cooperation in the field of the fundamental sciences and applied research, and measures to ensure their continuity, inter alia the creation of long-term structures such as joint laboratories and centres for sharing information.

The Parties note with satisfaction the preliminary agreement of the bodies concerned to set up a joint research group on climate and the environment and a joint mathematics research laboratory.

The Prime Ministers recalled their ambition to face together the modern challenges in the field of education. To this end, they agreed to join forces to strengthen Russia's position in the European knowledge and research area, and to resume in 2002 the implementation of a cooperation programme in the field of education. Russia and France confirm their commitment to standardizing the procedure for validating jointly-supervised dissertations under a dual-doctorate programme.

The heads of government deem it necessary to mobilize joint efforts to increase knowledge of the Russian language in France and the French language in Russia./.