For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 9, 2004
Statement by the Press Secretary
On November 8, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected
its Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)-eligible countries for Fiscal
Year 2005. This decision marks another step forward in implementing
the President's vision of an ever-widening circle of development and
his groundbreaking MCA initiative. The MCA is a bold, new compact for
global development that rewards countries that govern justly, invest in
their people, and encourage economic freedom. The implementation of
MCC programs in selected countries will accelerate economic growth and
poverty reduction. The President welcomes the addition of Morocco to
Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar,
Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and
Vanuatu.
In addition, the MCC designated six new countries as eligible for
its 2005 Threshold Program, enabling them to apply for grants designed
to help them qualify for the MCA. Burkina Faso, Guyana, Malawi,
Paraguay, Philippines, and Zambia now join Timor-Leste, Kenya, Sao
Tome, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen, in working to achieve the stringent
standards for country selection.
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