MOSCOW, October 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is set to borrow $100 million from the World Bank to conduct judicial reform and form special economic zones, the economic development and trade minister said Wednesday.
"The three-year loan will be received in 2006 on the condition that these projects will be co-financed by the federal budget," German Gref said after talks with World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
Svetlana Ganeyeva, the head of the ministry's investment policy department, said the loan could be used to equip courts, train judges, and create tourist-recreational special economic zones.
Gref said the World Bank was ready to provide information to help fight corruption in Russia.
"We decided to begin with the judicial system, and are drafting a program for judicial reform," he said. A ban on combining professions is one of the measures being taken against corruption in this sphere. "This is a serious source of illegal biased rulings," the minister said.
