OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2009. A regular meeting of the Business Council under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, chaired by Sergey Lavrov, was held on November 11 to examine the tasks in bolstering antiterrorism cooperation between governmental and entrepreneurial circles in furtherance of the international initiative for an antiterrorist partnership of states and the business community put forward by the Russian Federation during its G8 presidency in 2006.

The meeting brought together representatives of leading business associations in Russia (Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Delovaya Rossiya and Opora Rossii), large domestic companies participating in the activities of the initiative for the antiterrorist partnership of states and the business community (Norilsk Nickel, Lukoil, Gazprom, Alrosa, Interros and others), and senior officials from the National Antiterrorism Committee, Rosfinmonitoring, a number of other agencies and the Moscow Mayor’s Office.

Given the importance of involving the potential of civil society in tackling the tasks of the public-private antiterrorism partnership, the meeting was also attended by representatives of Russian NGOs, the media, in particular the heads of the International Academy of Television and Radio and the Interfax News Agency, as well as educational institutions – MGIMO, the Diplomatic Academy, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

Thorough discussions took place enabling a comprehensive review of the results and prospects of cooperation between state and private structures to counter the terrorist threat in the Russian Federation and internationally, and the possibilities for advancing specific new projects, including within the UN, OSCE, SCO, and APEC. Following the meeting recommendations were endorsed that will form the basis for further practical work to strengthen the public-private antiterrorism partnership.