May 30, 2005 -  Saint Petersburg. German O. Greff, the RF Minister of Economic Development and Trade, conducted negotiations with Carlos M. Gutierrez, the US Secretary of Commerce,  with a view to implementing the decisions adopted at the US-Russian Presidential Summit in Bratislava.

In the course of the meeting the negotiating parties agreed to develop by June 30 a near-term action plan to materially improve the investment climate and to increase the trade turnover between Russia and the United States.

According to Mr. Greff, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade will consult with the US-Russia Business Council in the nearest future to define the most promising areas for cooperation between the countries.

The Russian party considers the energy sector, the high-tech and machine engineering as the most challenging lines of cooperation. Also, joining the WTO will take a high priority for Russia.

In his turn, Mr. Gutierrez pointed out that the Unites States were very interested in the development of successful economic relations with Russia given the growing degree of the country's involvement in the world economy.