WASHINGTON, D.C., November 20, 2017 – Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Nash is visiting Kosovo today alongside U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel of New York for the launch of MCC’s $49 million Kosovo Threshold Program signed in September.
MCC’s implementing partner, the Millennium Foundation Kosovo, will host a one-day conference to kick off the program, which is designed to drive economic growth and reduce poverty across the country. Kosovo Prime Minister HE Ramush Haradinaj will open the event, and COO Nash and Congressman Engel will deliver keynote remarks highlighting U.S.-Kosovo relations nearly 10 years after Kosovo’s independence, and opportunities presented by the new threshold program.
Kosovo is one of the newest countries in the world, and with 30 percent of the population living below the poverty line, it is also one of the poorest countries in Europe. Since gaining its independence in 2008, Kosovo continues to develop government institutions that can deliver critical services to its citizens.
MCC’s Kosovo Threshold Program supports the Government’s efforts to lower energy costs for households and businesses and improve transparency and accountability with a focus on policy and institutional reforms. Economic analysis identified a lack of reliable electricity and real and perceived weaknesses in rule of law as two critical constraints to growth in Kosovo.
The threshold program is MCC’s smaller grant program focused on advancing policy and institutional reform that helps partner countries better serve their people. MCC’s grant investments promote economic growth and help people lift themselves out of poverty, creating more stable, secure countries and new business opportunities.
Learn more about MCC’s Kosovo Threshold Program and hear from Sarah Olmstead, MCC’s Kosovo Country Team Lead, in her latest op-ed.
For more information on MCC COO Nash’s visit to Kosovo, please contact Kate Pritchard at Pritchardkm@mcc.gov.
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The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. Government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to poor countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights. Learn more about MCC at www.mcc.gov.