NEWS

Moldova News

March 1, 2010

Millennium Partners  signed a contract with USAID to work with the government of Moldova to improve the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of several of their ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Superior Council of Magistrates, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Finance.

Tijara News

December 30, 2009 – Iraq
“The government agency USAID’s Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Programme, designed to support improved access to finance and business development services in the micro and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sectors, says that since its inception less than two years ago, the level of microfinance and bank financing has more than doubled from the baselines set by Tijara’s predecessor, the Izdihar project, and innovative financing mechanisms – such as SME-focused lending units in a few private banks – are helping expand financial services offerings where they never existed before.”

“A progress report published in September 2009 says that under Tijara, cumulative small, medium and micro enterprise loan disbursements have reached $344m. SME lending units in nine private banks affiliated with the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees (ICBG) have been launched in 34 branches in 16 provinces, shelling out for more than $16m in loans. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Company for Financing SMEs came into being this summer and in its first two months of operation made 200 loans totaling $3.5m…” –Is Foreign Investment the Answer to Iraq’s Banking Needs? Courtney Fingar, The Banker, December 30, 2009.

Moldova Reaches Millennium Challenge Account Compact Status

January 22, 2010
Secretary of State and Chairman of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Board of Directors, Hillary Clinton hosted the signing of the $262 million Millennium Challenge Account Compact Agreement with Moldova. The event was  hosted at the State Department and Prime Minister Vladimir Filat of Moldova and Daniel Yohannes, the CEO of MCC, signed the agreement. Millennium Partners recently completed the MCC Governance Threshold Country Program focused on anti corruption reforms in the judicial, health and tax sectors, which significantly contributed to raising the indicators to enable Moldova to be eligible for a compact award under the Millennium Challenge Account. Brian Hannon, the CEO of Millennium Partners, and Laurence Vetter, the project’s former Chief of Party, met with PM Filat and a delegation visiting Washington for the signing. The compact focuses on irrigation sector reform, the reconstruction of irrigation systems, access to agricultural finance, and related capacity building and training activities, as well as the rehabilitation of a section of the country’s national road network.

Millennium Board Member and Senior Legal Advisor Rumu Sarkar Publishes A Fearful Symmetry: The New Soldier In an Age of Asymmetric Conflict

Millennium Partners’ Senior Legal Advisor and Board Member, Rumu Sarkar is the author of  A Fearful Symmetry: The New Soldier In An Age Of Asymmetric Conflict, scheduled to be released in April 2010. The New Soldier deploys a new set of analytic techniques to frame global terrorism that is both fruitful and useful in practice by NATO, the UN and other multinational forces. The forward is by Jamie Shea of NATO and the book is based on a grand prize winning essay submitted by Dr. Sarkar to the St. Cyr Foundation (St. Cyr is France’s West Point) in 2007.

Dr. Sarkar previously served as a Senior Advisor to Calibre Systems, General Counsel of the Base Realingment and Closure Commission, the Overseas Basing Commission and as a former Assistant General Counsel for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and formerly a staff attorney with the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Agency for International Development and as a Wall St. attorney. She is an Adjunct Law Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center  and has published extensive books and articles on international development law.

Copies of the New Soldier being published by Praeger may be purchased in advance for a 20 percent discount through February 28, 2010. Go to www.abc-clio.com and enter the code 101ALA4 to receive your discount. The book will be released in April 2010.

Esther Hannon, Millennium Partners President and Ivy Inter-American Foundation Board Member Make Humanitarian Award to Rita Conceição of Bahia Street

December 14, 2009
Esther Hannon, President of Millennium Partners and a Board Member of the Ivy Inter-American Foundation, a non-profit foundation that seeks to assist, educate, and empower children in Latin America joined members of the Ivy Inter-American Board to present a humanitarian award to Bahia Street Director Rita Conceição on December 14 for her work helping girls Bahia break cycles of poverty and violence through quality educational opportunities(see www.bahiastreet.org.) Ruy de Lima Casaes e Silva, Brazil’s Ambassador to the OAS, hosted the event honoring Ms. Conceição. For more information about the Ivy Inter-American Foundation and how to donate please go to www.ivyinteramericanfoundation.org

Millennium Partners teams up with the University of Virginia’s Global Development Program

The University of Virginia and Millennium Partners are collaborating on the development of a new Global Development Program  for undergraduates. Millennium Partners is assisting the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Richard Handler with a new global development studies program by providing leading speakers on global development, hosting events, participating in seminars, and providing UVA undergrads with hands on experience working with Millennium Partners. During November and December 2009 Millennium Partners brought two speakers to the UVA campus to meet with students and faculty and deliver a lecture on current international development issues. US Ambassador Philip Carter,  the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, spoke about his many years serving in Africa and his views of the region’s prospects for political and economic development. Rodney Bent, the former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, spoke about the MCC  approach to development and the many challenges that remain. Millennium Partners will be working with Dean Handler to bring other leading development experts to the UVA campus as the program develops. Millennium Partners continues to employ UVA undergrads who are seeking international development experience in a hands on environment. Interested UVA students should also see the Career page for more information.

Threshold Country Program Marks Achievements in Moldova

September 15, 2009
An agreement establishing the Threshold Country Program was signed by the United States and Moldova on December 15, 2006. The program will be coming to its end on September 30 with widespread achievements in many areas. The program, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, was administered by USAID and implemented by various partners including Millennium Partners. It set forth the framework for an ambitious, multi-pronged initiative to combat corruption and increase transparency in Moldova’s public sector.

Many achievements have been attained in the program’s distinct components: judicial administration, health services, and tax administration under the Moldova Governance Threshold County Program, and other programs supporting the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption, and the Customs Service, as well as building capacity in civil society and media to monitor reforms. Many wide-ranging policy changes and other reforms have resulted, which have contributed to good governance and greater transparency in government institutions.

U.S. Ambassador, Asif J. Chaudhry and key Moldovan government officials spoke at an official celebratory close-out event at the Leogrand Hotel, Chisinau on September 15, 2009. The theme of the event was, “Celebrating our Achievements: Committing to the Future.”

In his remarks to attendees, Ambassador Chaudhry said the program’s milestones of achievement were notable but they represented far more than statistics; they translated into real-life and meaningful change for citizens. Ambassador Chaudhry said, “We rightfully gather today to celebrate these many achievements, but we also are here – during this time of political change – to commit ourselves to continuing to build upon the groundwork that has been laid by the Threshold Country Program. We know from our experience in the United States that reducing corruption and increasing transparency takes time and will require constant vigilance and hard work, and that the work is never finished. I am confident that the Threshold Country Program has brought greater consciousness in Moldova of how corruption can, and must, be tamed. Yours is a long- term commitment to address these issues and we, your U.S. counterparts, are here to continue to serve in partnership with you in that quest.”