Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared during the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 that his country will collaborate with the US, Europe and other countries to resolve the global financial crisis.

"We cannot afford to be isolationist and egotistic," he said, promising that Russia will not resort to protectionism and erect trade barriers that will simply worsen the global financial crisis.

In times when governments inject billions of dollars into financial institutions and companies in order to save them and the jobs they provide, Putin warned against state interference in the private sector. The Russian PM pointed out that a similar that error was made by the Soviet Union with disastrous results and promised that the Russian Federation will not make the same mistake.

"The government will help with debt servicing and lending, but the key initiatives will be lower taxes, boosting domestic consumption and other ways of creating an attractive environment for investment," Putin said.

The Prime Minister also called for international action to promote global energy security, pointing out that the extreme volatility of energy prices is not beneficial to any country. In an apparent reference to Russia's recent gas conflict with the Ukraine, Putin told the forum that Russia will do its part by building new gas pipelines across the North and Baltic Seas.

On Thursday, the World Economic Forum also released its Green Investing: Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure report about the investments needed to develop a clean energy infrastructure.

The report warns that unless at least USD 515 B per year are invested in clean energy between now and 2030, carbon emissions will reach a unsustainable level, causing temperatures to rise by two degrees globally.

The report identifies 8 energy sectors that are expected to significantly in a clean energy infrastructure: onshore wind, offshore wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal electricity generation, municipal solar waste-to-energy, sugar-based ethanol, cellulosic and next generation biofuels, and geothermal power.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009, under the theme "Shaping the Post-Crisis World", is held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland with more than 2,500 participants from 96 countries and a record 40 Heads of State or government. Participants include key finance, foreign affairs, trade and energy ministers, heads of non-governmental organizations, social entrepreneurs and religious leaders at the Meeting.

In addition, the Open Forum Davos 2009, which runs in parallel to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009, is hosting a series of high-level discussions from January 29 to 31 on the issue of globalization and its effects.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests

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