Moscow, December 4, 2003. Sistema JSFC has become, along with several other Russian companies, one of this country’s first corporations to be admitted to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Sistema JSFC representatives attended the Council’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in November 2003. The meeting was held to discuss the Council’s annual report for 2003, its strategy in the years to 2010, and various aspects of cooperation between business and the UN within the framework of the Global Compact. The Council meeting was attended by CEOs of more than 50 biggest corporations from around the world and around 100 delegates representing world companies. A separate session was held on financial cooperation schemes with representatives of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Sistema JSFC gives much importance to its own efforts to implement international programs to enhance transparency and civic responsibility of the business community. In particular, as a sign of support for the UN Secretary General’s initiative, the company has been, beginning August 2002, a member of the Global Compact that calls for combining the power of market relations and universal human values. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) was established at the initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce in January 1995. It now brings together 160 largest enterprises in 30 countries in upward of 20 industries and other types of business (British Petroleum, Shell, Anglo American, Noranda, Rio Tinto, WMC, Volkswagen, Fiat, Philips, General Motors, Sony, Xerox, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Nestle and so on). The WBCSD’s regional network includes national and regional business councils and partnerships, including nongovernmental organizations. The World Council’s basic aims are, among other goals, promoting cooperation among businesses, governments and organizations in their joint efforts to protect the environment and encourage sustainable development, summarize and disseminate environment-friendly business practices, forecast ecological and socioeconomic situation in the world, develop scenarios for responding to that situation, and implement appropriate international programs. The Global Compact is an international UN initiative seeking to promote integration of common human values and principles of civic responsibility into the business practice of companies in the conditions of ongoing globalization. Private investments are going to play a growing role in development processes, and the private sector can, in partnership with social forces, help achieve a more stable and all-embracing global economy in the interests of human community as a whole. The idea of the Global Compact is to assist organizations in reappraising their strategies and daily activities on the basis of nine universal principles applicable to human rights and environmental protection. To achieve these objectives, the Global Compact suggests applying such mechanisms as political dialog, education, local structures and projects in order to effectively promote the principles and values of the Global Compact in countries where the UN is implementing its programs. The Global Compact has been joined by more than 1,000 companies in various industries in many world regions that have a stake in a more responsible development of business, taking into account the interests and concerns of a large number of parties involved, including employees, investors, customers, partners, social organizations, and members of the public.