International experts back Russian reform program
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MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) – The decisive start of economic reforms in Russia cannot ensure industrial growth next year but will lay a solid foundation for economic growth and higher living standards of people in the years to come, a group of international experts who visited Moscow for consultations with the Russian leadership said in a statement.
The group of experts includes Marek Dabrowski (Poland), Rüdiger Dornbusch (Germany), Sergio de la Cuadra (Chile), Jeffrey Sachs (the United States), Anders Aslund (Sweden), and Karoly Attila Soos (Hungary).
The experts believe that goods shortages and high inflation could be eliminated in 1992.
The Russian government should take comprehensive and simultaneous action in three areas, which are macroeconomic stabilization, introduction of market mechanisms accompanied by rapid privatization of state property and the creation of a social security system, they said. The experts recommend that the most difficult measures in each area be implemented without delay at the very start of the reforms.
The international community should provide emergency assistance to the Russian government, the statement said. Such assistance should include food, financial support, a loan for creating a forex fund for ruble stabilization, and a realistic approach to Russia's international obligations inherited from the USSR, it said.
Negotiations with the Russian leadership and the International Monetary Fund are the best way to determine Russia's financial needs, the experts said.
