U.S. – Armenia Economic Task Force
The U.S. – Armenia Economic Task
Force (USATF) was established on January 27, 2000 with the signing
of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Governments of the United
States and Armenia. The idea for such bilateral mechanism to discuss
priorities and directions of U.S. assistance to Armenia was first
proposed during the working visit of then-Prime Minister of Armenia,
the late Vazgen Sargsyan to the United States, in October 1999.
The USATF was formed to provide a framework
for regular high-level contact, to promote further economic cooperation,
to advance progress on economic and market reforms, and to maximize
the effectiveness of the assistance programs offered by the United
States. The USATF is co-chaired by the Coordinator of Assistance
to the NIS, Department of State for the United States, and the Minister
of Finance and Economy for the Republic of Armenia.The USATF is convened on bi-annual
basis, and has held 9 sessions since its establishment. The USATF
meetings are convened in Washington, DC and Yerevan on consecutive
basis. Typically, officials from various government agencies, from
both countries, are represented at the USATF sessions. These agencies
include the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Foreign Ministry,
the Energy Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Trade and Economic
Development Ministry, the State Customs Committee, the Central Bank,
the Office of the Prime Minister, the Chief Economic Adviser to the
President from the Armenian side, and the Department of State, Department
of the Treasury, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce,
and the Office of the Trade Representative from the U.S. Two sub-groups
are formed within the framework of the USATF; one discusses issues
of trade and commerce between the two countries, increasingly becoming
one of the major lynchpins in U.S.-Armenian bilateral relations,
and the other subgroup, the cooperation in the area of science and
technology.
These meetings are action oriented
and resulted in a large number of cooperative efforts in the areas
of intellectual rights, WTO accession, legislative process, and overall
U.S. assistance priorities. This forum has proved to be an excellent
method of discussing and resolving issues pertaining to the execution
of the U.S. assistance to Armenia.
"USATF Holds Its Biannual
Meeting In Washington DC, November 4-5, 2003"
U.S.-Armenia
Task Force on Economic Reform
Synergy International Systems, Inc.