About USAID
Project Database
Browse projects by:
Sector
Sector
Browse projects by:
News Archive
USAID Bulgaria Closing Ceremony, October 10, 2007, 4:00 pm
04.Oct.2007
Representatives of the media are invited to attend a ceremony celebrating the U.S.-Bulgaria partnership and the closing of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Bulgaria.
The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 10 from 16:00-17:30 in the Sofia Grand Ballroom at the Kempinski Hotel Zografski.
Journalists should arrive by 15:30 on October 10 to pass through security.
Journalists are requested to confirm their attendance with the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office at 937 5306 by 12 pm on Tuesday, October 9.
Keynote speakers at the ceremony will be Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Valtchev, USAID Acting Administrator Henrietta Fore, Ambassador John Beyrle, and USAID Mission Director Michael Fritz. The more than 500 attendees will include Bulgarian government officials and partners of USAID programs including representatives of civil society organizations, businesses and media.
Also speaking at the event will be Rayna Gavrilova, Executive Director of the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe; Stefan Ivanov, Country Officer for Citigroup in Bulgaria; and Hristo Ivanov, Attorney at the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives.
The ceremony will highlight the main achievements of USAID after 17 years of assistance and an investment of more than 600 million dollars, while embracing the future U.S.-Bulgaria relationship with Bulgaria as a member of the European Union.
USAID in Bulgaria
USAID, the U.S. Government’s foreign assistance agency, began to support Bulgaria’s transition to a democracy and free market economy in 1990. It continued its program over the next 17 years with more than $600 million in assistance. During that period the USAID program evolved almost as dramatically as Bulgaria’s own transition. Starting as a modest program of emergency food and medical aid and support for democratic political processes including free and fair elections, it quickly grew into a broad spectrum of activities supporting many key components of the transition.
Assistance to Bulgaria was focused on three broad goals:
Henrietta H. Fore was designated by President George W. Bush as Acting Administrator of USAID and designated by Secretary Condoleezza Rice as Acting Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance on May 7, 2007. While she serves in these acting capacities, she remains Under Secretary of State for Management, a position she has held since August 2005. As Under Secretary for Management she is responsible for the people, resources, facilities, technology and security of the Department of State and is the Secretary's principal advisor on management issues.
Prior to her appointment, Fore served as the 37th Director of the United States Mint in the Department of Treasury between August 2001 and August 2005. She had also been a Presidential appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1989 to 1993, first as Assistant Administrator for Private Enterprise in the U.S. Agency for International Development and then Assistant Administrator for Asia.
In addition to her foreign policy experience in government service, Henrietta Fore has held leadership positions in numerous international non-profit organizations.
The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 10 from 16:00-17:30 in the Sofia Grand Ballroom at the Kempinski Hotel Zografski.
Journalists should arrive by 15:30 on October 10 to pass through security.
Journalists are requested to confirm their attendance with the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office at 937 5306 by 12 pm on Tuesday, October 9.
Keynote speakers at the ceremony will be Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Valtchev, USAID Acting Administrator Henrietta Fore, Ambassador John Beyrle, and USAID Mission Director Michael Fritz. The more than 500 attendees will include Bulgarian government officials and partners of USAID programs including representatives of civil society organizations, businesses and media.
Also speaking at the event will be Rayna Gavrilova, Executive Director of the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe; Stefan Ivanov, Country Officer for Citigroup in Bulgaria; and Hristo Ivanov, Attorney at the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives.
The ceremony will highlight the main achievements of USAID after 17 years of assistance and an investment of more than 600 million dollars, while embracing the future U.S.-Bulgaria relationship with Bulgaria as a member of the European Union.
USAID in Bulgaria
USAID, the U.S. Government’s foreign assistance agency, began to support Bulgaria’s transition to a democracy and free market economy in 1990. It continued its program over the next 17 years with more than $600 million in assistance. During that period the USAID program evolved almost as dramatically as Bulgaria’s own transition. Starting as a modest program of emergency food and medical aid and support for democratic political processes including free and fair elections, it quickly grew into a broad spectrum of activities supporting many key components of the transition.
Assistance to Bulgaria was focused on three broad goals:
- Fostering a competitive market economy led by the private sector;
- Supporting the transition to transparent and accountable governance, and the empowerment of citizens through democratic structures and processes;
- Strengthening the management of the human dimension of the transition, and improving the quality of life.
- The creation of more than 100 municipal customer service and information centers;
- Assistance in establishing a stable banking sector and capital markets;
- Provision of more than 50,000 micro-credits to small business owners;
- Creation of more than 130,000 jobs;
- Provision of residential mortgages in the amount of 300 million leva.
Henrietta H. Fore was designated by President George W. Bush as Acting Administrator of USAID and designated by Secretary Condoleezza Rice as Acting Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance on May 7, 2007. While she serves in these acting capacities, she remains Under Secretary of State for Management, a position she has held since August 2005. As Under Secretary for Management she is responsible for the people, resources, facilities, technology and security of the Department of State and is the Secretary's principal advisor on management issues.
Prior to her appointment, Fore served as the 37th Director of the United States Mint in the Department of Treasury between August 2001 and August 2005. She had also been a Presidential appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1989 to 1993, first as Assistant Administrator for Private Enterprise in the U.S. Agency for International Development and then Assistant Administrator for Asia.
In addition to her foreign policy experience in government service, Henrietta Fore has held leadership positions in numerous international non-profit organizations.