U.S.-Ukraine Foundation hosts third session of policy dialogue (10/22/06)

U.S.-Ukraine Foundation hosts third session of policy dialogue

WASHINGTON - The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and its partners hosted the third working session of the U.S.-Ukraine Policy Dialogue in Washington on September 25-29. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S.-Ukraine Policy Dialogue is designed to supplement and deepen the official bilateral dialogue between Ukraine and the United States.

More than 60 policy-makers from the United States and Ukraine met to discuss U.S.-Ukraine relations through the prism of foreign policy and national security; politics and governance; media and information; and business and economics.

Program participants included deputies from Ukraine's Parliament, representatives of the U.S. Department of State, National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine, Ministry of the Economy of Ukraine, U.S. and Ukrainian think-tanks, non-governmental organizations, and media and business representatives.

The opening plenary session, which was webcast live, commenced with welcoming remarks by Nadia McConnell, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation president, and Damon Wilson, the director for Central and Eastern Europe at the National Security Council.

Noting the importance of the project, Mr. Wilson stated: "I appreciate very much the role of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation supporting this policy dialogue. It is a particularly opportune moment to have it here in Washington and to be talking about U.S.-Ukraine relations. After prolonged uncertainty there is a government and we have a partner to work with in Ukraine. It is the right moment for us in Washington to be thinking through the next steps in the relationship and, therefore, the work that you will be doing in this group over the coming days I think is very useful."

"Over the years, policy dialogue has been constructive in feeding into the thinking here in Washington, and hopefully in Ukraine as well, among the policy-makers. I think this is particularly relevant right now during the stage we're at," stated Mr. Wilson.

Throughout the week, participants were divided according to their expertise into four task forces: politics and governance; foreign policy and national security; economics and business; and media and information. Each of these task forces held numerous meetings with senior officials of the U.S. government, representatives of NGOs, congressional committees and think-tanks in Washington, which provided further insight on U.S.-Ukraine related issues.

Co-chaired by high-level American and Ukrainian experts, the task forces are managed by U.S. and Ukrainian partner organizations such as The Atlantic Council of the United States, Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies, International Center for Policy Studies, Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, SigmaBleyzer and Europe XXI Foundation.

The U.S.-Ukraine Policy Dialogue concluded with a closing plenary session on September 28 at which Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Dr. Oleh Shamshur, gave closing remarks, and each task force presented its policy recommendations for the U.S. and Ukrainian governments.

Afterwards, a reception to commemorate the U.S.-Ukraine Policy Dialogue and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation was held at the Embassy of Ukraine.

Commenting on this special occasion, Mrs. McConnell expressed that she hopes "the foundation's next 15 years will be as enjoyable and productive as these first 15. We know this will be so if we continue to receive the kind of support that we have received thus far. In particular, we recognize our partner institutions and all of the task force members who have so generously donated their time and energy to make policy dialogue a success. "

To learn more about the U.S.-Ukraine Policy Dialogue or to view webcasts of the policy dialogue events and the 15th anniversary celebration, readers can log on to http://www.usukraine.org/pd06videos.shtml.

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