British Foreign Office Minister to Visit Russia
MOSCOW,
April 4, 2004. (RIA Novosti) – Minister of the British Foreign
Office Bill Rammel will come to Russia on April 4-6 with a working
visit, the British Embassy in Moscow has informed RIA Novosti.
Mr. Rammel
intends to visit Moscow and Yekaterinburg, a large industrial
center in the South Urals. In the Russian capital he will hold
talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Vladimir Chizhov and
Yuri Fedotov, as well as with parliamentarians, businessmen and
students. Rammel will also attend a roundtable titled "Solving
Security Problems Together" with students of the Moscow State
Foreign Relations Institute (MGIMO), representatives of the US
and Canada Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
and members of the British graduates’ club.
In Yekaterinburg
the British diplomat will meet the city governor and administration,
as well as businessmen.
Mr. Rammel
is the first British minister to visit Russia after the presidential
elections, the Embassy pointed out.
"The
visit aims at emphasizing the importance of Britain’s relations
with Russia, confirming the hopes of the British government for
further cooperation and demonstrating its active support to the
democratic reform in Russia at the very beginning of Vladimir
Putin’s second term in office," the Embassy explained.
According
to Bill Rammel, he "is looking forward to his first visit
to Russia", which "remains one of our key partners".
"We are
striving after closer relations between Russia and the EU, the
G8 and NATO. We also want to continue developing our successful
contacts in trade and investment. Great Britain wants Russia to
be a stable and prosperous country, an influential member of the
international community. We welcome the progress achieved in reforms
in the recent years and are ready to continue our support to the
process," Mr. Rammel emphasized.