*EPF514 05/07/2004
Text: Bush Congratulates Millennium Challenge Account Selectees
(Looks forward to "genuine partnership" with the 16 countries) (420)

President Bush has congratulated the first 16 countries selected to submit proposals for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) funding and says he looks forward to a "genuine partnership" between them and the new U.S. government corporation that will administer the fund.

The board of directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected the countries during a May 6 meeting in Washington. Secretary of State Colin Powell chairs the board.

Bush's congratulations were contained in a statement issued the same day.

The 16 countries are Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.

The MCA is a new supplemental approach to U.S. foreign aid with a focus on economic growth in poor countries, good governance and investment in people.

Following is the text of the White House statement:

(begin text)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
May 6, 2004

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

President Congratulates Countries Selected for the Millennium Challenge Account

Today, the Board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected the first round of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) countries. The selection marks an historic moment in how the United States and the world delivers development assistance to the world's poorest countries.

The countries chosen were Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu.

These countries have met the high standard of this groundbreaking program by governing justly, investing in their people, and promoting economic freedom. The President congratulates them on their selection and looks forward to a genuine partnership between them and the MCC as they prepare their country proposals. Congress has provided $1 billion in 2004 to fund the MCA, and the Administration looks forward to working with Congress to fund our 2005 request of $2.5 billion for the MCA, and to reach our annual funding goal of $5 billion in 2006.

Background

The MCA is a new approach to development assistance, which focuses on increasing economic growth in the world's poorest countries by reinforcing sound policies, good governance, and the rule of law through development programs designed by countries that have demonstrated the commitment to govern justly, promote economic freedom and invest in their people. The President announced the MCA initiative in March 2002, just prior to attending the Financing for Development Conference in Monterrey, Mexico, where this approach was welcomed by fifty heads of state and 200 ministers in the Monterrey Consensus.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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