Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to make a one-day visit to Russia on Tuesday
Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister, is expected to make a one-day visit to Moscow on Tuesday.
European Union-Russia relations will dominate Mr. Juncker's visit, the Embassy of Luxembourg in Moscow reported.
"Because Luxembourg will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2005," the embassy said, "Jean-Claude Juncker's upcoming meetings in Moscow will focus on acute issues of Russia-EU cooperation."
While in Russia, which will be his third visit to Russia in the past six years, Mr. Juncker will meet with senior Russian officials including Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
Russia and Luxembourg's relations are an example of effective cooperation between Russia and an EU country, Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, said.
"The potential of bilateral ties accumulated by Russia and Luxembourg, their cooperation on a wide range of international issues and the closeness or concurrence of their positions on the majority of international problems are a good example of effective cooperation between Russia and European Union countries," said Mr. Yakovenko.
Mr. Yakovenko recalled that in the first half of 2005 Luxembourg would preside in the EU. Therefore, Moscow and Luxembourg are focusing on acute issues of Russia-EU cooperation.
"Efforts to agree on four roadmaps on the Russia-EU common spaces in the spheres of economics, internal and external security, science, education and culture," he said, "and to implement the joint statement on the EU's enlargement and its relations with Russia that was signed in Luxembourg on April 27, 2004 will be discussed."
The trade turnover between Russia and Luxembourg in the first seven months of 2004 reached 41.5 million euros, Mr. Yakovenko said and added that Russia was interested in developing relations with Luxembourg, a major stock market and investment center in Europe. Mr. Yakovenko said that since January 1, 2004, Luxembourg's investments in Russia were only $30 million, i.e., 0.5% of Luxembourg's overall foreign investments.
"The two countries are discussing attracting Luxembourg's investments, given that Russia has provided favorable conditions for foreign economic operators," said Mr. Yakovenko.
Mr. Yakovenko said high-tech, energy, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, communications, efforts to support small and medium businesses, including at the regional level, are the areas which provide good opportunities for realizing the two countries' business cooperation potential
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