USAID Commemorates 15 Years of Partnership with Ukraine

Minister of Housing and Communal Sector Olexander Popov congratulates the Mission during his remarks Kyiv - July 21, 2007. USAID commemorated its 15th anniversary in Ukraine with a jubilee event on July 21, which included remarks by Ukrainian politicians and government officials, as well as the launch of a traveling photo retrospective, entitled "15 Years of Partnership." The 300 guests who attended also had an opportunity to view giant screen video displays highlighting USAID's work in Ukraine over the last decade and a half, including a montage of old public service announcements.  The event was held at the Ukrainian House of Culture and Exhibition Hall in central Kyiv. Ambassador William B.  Taylor kicked-off the event, explaining that the 15 years of cooperation was continuing to have a tangible effect.   "In the last two weeks the World Bank, which is a well-known international agency, recognized that recently Ukraine had seen increased incomes and prosperity of its citizens, and therefore moved it from the category of low-income countries to a higher bracket," explained Ambassador Taylor. Ambassador Taylor added that the U.S.  remains committed to supporting the country as it continues to build democracy and a free market economy.   Mission Director Earl Gast explained that when the first USAID employees arrived in Ukraine in 1992, they found a country that was on the verge of collapse.   Thanks to USAID support, dozens of independent media outlets in Ukraine received support; thousands of political party activists learned to work in election commissions, and millions of rural Ukrainians received government-issued titles to their land plots.  In 15 years of partnership, USAID has provided $1.6 billion in technical assistance to Ukraine.   Today, Ukraine is one of the most democratic nations in the region and a leader in the reform processes in the post-Soviet region, explained Mr.  Gast.   Also on hand to greet USAID on its jubilee were Minister of Housing and Communal Sector Olexander Popov, who as a city mayor worked with USAID on past projects, and former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuri Yekhanurov, who was the head of the Anti-Monopoly Committee when USAID supported the privatization of large-scale Ukrainian enterprises.  Mr.  Yekhanurov thanked USAID for teaching thousands of Ukrainians about "systems with which they were not familiar." Minister Popov presented the Mission with a plaque in commemoration of "extended fruitful partnership, effective assistance in solving problems in restructuring of housing and communal sector in Ukraine." It was one of three that Mission Director Gast accepted on this day.

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