STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. GENNADY GATILOV DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
AT THE 64-TH SESSION OF THE UN ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
Geneva, 29 March 2011

Dear Mr. Chairman,

Dear Mr. Executive Secretary,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking the UNECE Secretariat and personally
Mr. Jan Kubiš for excellent preparation for the Session.

Russia considers UNECE as a unique regional UN platform which provides for a close cooperation and sharing of good practices among countries from Pan-European region on a wide range of issues in economic and social areas. The Commission also enables to commonly address the current problems of the global agenda.

Three years have passed since the global crisis severely affected the world economy and the financial system and plunged many countries into recession. Overcoming crisis's consequences is still the outmost priority for the international community.

In the meantime manmade catastrophes and natural disasters along with terrorist acts and political conflicts continue to shake the world. Recent international developments have once again revealed that building a single, economically sustainable and socially secure Europe is fundamental for attaining peace, security and stability in the region.

Mr. Chairman,

Russia fully supports UNECE activities and calls for further strengthening of the Commission's role in the region. May I remind you that since 2008 our country annually contributes 1.2 million US dollars to support UNECE's technical assistance projects.

Our donorship tells not only of our political commitment to the Commission. Financing technical assistance projects is a well-thought and pragmatic step aimed at facilitating integration and wider use of UNECE expertise. We appreciate the fact that the priorities of the Commission in many ways match the tasks in the socio-economic field, set forth by the Russian Government.

Russia will use the vast expertise of UNECE while implementing the program of modernization of the Russian economy set by Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation. We believe that the intellectual capacity that exists within UNECE's Committee of Economic Cooperation and Integration (CECI) is a very valuable asset to speed up innovative development in countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia as well as in EU states. I would also like to underscore efficient and consistent efforts of the Commission aimed at protection and commercialization of the intellectual property which is an essential element to boost scientific and technical progress.

Mr. Chairman,

Russia and our UNECE's partners have significantly strengthened cooperation in trade facilitation. With the help from the Commission we are working on establishing a "Single Window" for the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Successful implementation of this project will translate into faster integration within the Customs Union and as a result in the whole Pan-European region.

Russia and UNECE undertake coordinated actions towards practical implementation in the European countries of recommendations of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Moscow in November 2009 as well as provisions of the UN General Assembly resolution "Improving Global Road Safety".

We attach great importance to the work of the UNECE in the field of environment, in particular to the establishment of favorable conditions for the improvement of the quality of life and promotion of environmental safety in the region.

In the context of preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development ("Rio+20") we consider it necessary to focus on the elaboration of a well-balanced approach to the topical issues of the agenda, in particular to the smooth transition to a green economy, that will take into account existing capacities for ensuring long-term sustainable development.

On our part, we believe that the Conference should focus not on the determination of new international sustainable development goals. Instead, it is necessary to carry out a thorough analysis of the progress in achieving earlier agreed goals and seek ways of their full and timely implementation.

Mr. Chairman,

One of the key conditions for recovery and sustainable growth of the global economy is the international development assistance. At the UN Summit on Millennium Development Goals in September 2010 Russia reaffirmed its commitment to this objective. Our donorship in the UNECE is also guided by this commitment. Russia is one of the long-standing and consistent partners of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA). Support for Central Asian countries is our priority while elaborating projects within the frame of the Russian voluntary contribution to UNECE.

Over the span of last three years Russia has been funding the Commission's assistance to Central Asian countries to enhance transboundary water and energy resources management as well as improve dam safety.

Mr. Chairman,

In conclusion I would like to emphasize that few regions of the world have a similar universal mechanism of multilateral economic and social cooperation with such a rich in-house expertise like UNECE. Our strategic vision remains unchanged: we should maximize the use of the Commission's capacity for dynamic economic development of member States. Meanwhile, the Commission must adjust its work to the current needs and realities. Therefore we are quite interested in ensuring provision of stable and adequate resources to implement UNECE's program of work. We can not but keep concerned by the floating information on possible UNECE's budget cuts for the coming biennium. We are convinced that such reduction will negatively impact efficiency of UNECE's activities as well as its expert capacity. In our view such decisions shall be taken only with the consent of the majority of member States. In its turn the Russian Federation will be supporting adequate financing of UNECE and its equal treatment vis-à-vis other regional commissions.

And last but certainly not the least. Russia together with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan with a clear indication of interest from other countries has initiated a launch of a wide expert dialogue on energy security within UNECE. In this regard I would like to affirm our fundamental political interest in getting a positive decision concerning the establishment of an informal expert group to deal with the issue. My colleague, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovsky, will speak in more detail on this issue in his statement during the session on energy cooperation.

Thank You for attention.