Amb. Yovanovitch: There are many ways for more Armenian-Americans to get involved with Armenia

Will meet Armenian-Americans in U.S. cities in June

by Vincent Lima

Published: Wednesday June 10, 2009

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch at her residence in Yerevan, June 10, 2009.  . Tatul Hakobyan / Armenian Reporter

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Yerevan - The United States envoy to Armenia, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is travelling to the United States to meet with members of the Armenian-American community. (See schedule here.) Armenian Reporter editor Vincent Lima and Senior Correspondent Tatul Hakobyan met with the ambassador at her residence in Yerevan on June 10 to discuss her agenda and some of the issues she will discuss during her visit.

Armenian Reporter: Madam Ambassador, you're going to be meeting with members of the Armenian-American community in Greater Boston, New York, Washington, and Southern California in the coming days. This'll be first such tour since Ambassador John Evans did one in 2005 – though I know you spoke to several influential Armenian-Americans in the United States before coming to Yerevan, and you meet Armenian-American leaders when they come here to visit.

What do you hope to accomplish on this trip?

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch: I think it's always useful to try to meet as many people as possible. What you stated in your question, that's really true: I have had the opportunity to meet people here and in Washington. There are other folks I have not had an opportunity to meet and groups that I haven't met with, and I think it's important to maintain a dialogue with the various members of the community on Armenian-American relations, on our assistance programs here, and provide an opportunity for people to ask questions, raise concerns, and also for me to hear what people are doing both in the U.S. and here in Armenia.

I'd like to discuss the Armenian-American bilateral relationship, which is an important one to us, and I think important to the Armenian-American community.

I'd like to discuss our assistance, not just USAID, but also some of the other forms of assistance that we provide, whether it's military to military, whether it's the Millennium Challenge program, which is an important program.

We also provide a lot of assistance through USDA for agricultural programs. So there are a variety of programs that touch many facets of Armenian life that are important for people in the U.S. to know about.

In addition, obviously there are a number of areas of concern, whether it's the assistance budget, or other policy matters that I'm sure the Armenian-American community has questions about, and this is an opportunity for individuals or groups to ask questions of an administration official.

AR: The United States has invested a great deal of money in Armenia over the last two decades. And the government is spending $48 million on aid to Armenia this fiscal year. You may want to talk about what that's going to. My specific question is whether you think these funds are well spent on Armenia.

MY: I do think the money is well spent.

With USAID specifically, the projects they work on are in the areas of good governance, economic competitiveness – helping Armenia become more competitive so that it can meet the challenges of the 21st century – as well as in the social sector. We're helping in health, helping the neediest in Armenia. For example, soup kitchens, helping with employment centers retraining people for jobs in sectors where they're actually hiring. Things like that.

Helping with good governance

AR: Now the good-governance programs include programs that may have helped in the conduct of this last election. You said the money was well spent. Can you talk about that?

MY: I think democracy and good governance is one of the areas that require the longest for real change to happen. Although when one looks at the economy as well, it's very difficult to transition from one system to another, as we've seen here in Armenia and we've seen in other places as well.

The good-governance money primarily goes to helping civil-society groups build capacity in order to help them work with the government. As you know, in the United States we rely very heavily on the civil-society sector to help provide position papers to legislators, to help mobilize support for various agenda items, to change what the agenda is in the United States. The environmental movement started with a book and various organizations took that on.

We do a lot of different things. We also work with the CEC – the Central Electoral Commission – to help them improve their procedures, to help them work on the electoral lists, and so forth.

You asked whether the money is well spent. I think the projects are worthwhile. Does that mean everything is perfect in Armenia? There's probably still a ways to go in that area and in other areas as well. Just as there is in the United States. I think it's a continuous process, and I think that if anything, the most recent election show that there is a need for continuing assistance.

Why recommend less aid?

AR: President Barack Obama has asked for $18 million less for fiscal 2010. I know Congress may yet restore some or all of these funds. In the meantime, can you explain this request for a substantial reduction in aid? Let me just add that we know that the administration has asked for an increase in foreign aid overall [$36.5 billion], and more than $322 million for Georgia, so the reason can't be lack of funds in an economic crisis.

MY: I think that it's always hard to make those choices. I think that President Obama has requested 25 percent more than President George W. Bush did in his most recent request. President Bush had requested $24 million in assistance. And over the past number of years, Congress has always upped that amount from the administration's request, which, as Assistant Secretary Philip Gordon noted yesterday, it is likely to do again.