ORRAN DAILY, 22 May. On May 12 and 13, the Governments of Armenia and the United States held a very successful sixth meeting of the US-Armenian Task Force. This semi-annual forum allows the US and Armenian governments to evaluate the US assistance program in Armenia in depth, and in particular to discuss the role the program should play in Armenia's long-term economic development.
"We held a number of substantive discussions on a range of issues, including Armenia's long-term growth strategy; poverty reduction; Armenia's business climate and its impact on trade and investment; the fight against corruption, human trafficking , and financial crimes; energy sector reform; agricultural development; and Armenia's scientific establishment. We focused much of our discussion on how to reduce Armenia's still widespread poverty by spreading the benefits of Armenia's impressive growth to more of the population," US Ambassador John Ordway noted at a press conference on May 20 in Yerevan.
"We also discussed the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which President Bush has proposed as both an expansion of our overall assistance program and a new way of delivering assistance to countries. This initiative would increase US assistance by $5 billion by 2006. The President has asked the US Congress for $1.3 billion for next year to get the program started, and the details of the program are currently being finalized," explained Ambassador Ordway.
"Although we will continue our existing assistance programs as well, the MCA would represent a very different approach to delivering assistance. According to the President's plan, countries would compete to qualify for MCA funds based on certain criteria of economic performance and good governance. These funds would then be delivered directly to foreign governments to spend on projects. For this reason, a country with low score on its fight against corruption-even if it scores well on all other measures-could be disqualified from MCA funding," he added.
"We see qualification for the MCA as an excellent goal for Armenia to set for itself, for two reasons. First, the MCA could represent a significant infusion of additional assistance. Second, the process of qualification itself will help Armenia achieve real progress on still-needed reforms.
For example, to qualify for MCA funding, countries will be evaluated on their commitment to controlling corruption, to free and fair elections, and to freedom of the press, among other criteria. As it determines Armenia's eligibility for MCA, the US Government will therefore take a careful look at the level of corruption in this country, at the conduct of elections here, and at the level of freedom that media outlets enjoy. It will also consider Armenia's efforts to address these and other issues," Mr. Ordway mentioned.
"The US Government will continue to do what it can to assist Armenia in these areas as well, but Armenia's eligibility for the MCA will ultimately be decided on its own performance. By taking concrete steps to promote reform, Armenia will increase the likelihood of receiving additional US assistance while expanding the economic and democratic opportunities available to the people of Armenia," he concluded.
Arman Tarjimanian