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Press Release

MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes Completes Visit to Armenia

Three-day visit included tour of MCC-funded projects and meeting with President Serzh Sargsyan

For Immediate Release

May 6, 2011

Washington, DC— Daniel Yohannes, the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), today completed a three-day visit to Armenia to review the results of MCC’s nearly $180 million investment.

Mr. Yohannes’s trip, which began May 2, included meetings with President Serzh Sargsyan and other senior Armenian officials, farmers, donor partners, and private sector and civil society representatives. 

“It has been a great pleasure to visit with the people of Armenia and see firsthand the results of their hard work and the benefits of MCC’s investments in the country,” stated Mr. Yohannes. “Armenia is a remarkable country, rich in history, culture and natural beauty. Its future economic growth depends in part on a strong agriculture sector. With these MCC investments in key components of the agricultural sector, MCC is contributing to a new era of prosperity for the Armenian people.”

In 2006, MCC signed a five-year compact with the Government of the Republic of Armenia focused on reducing rural poverty through a sustainable increase in the economic performance of the agricultural sector.

MCC investments are refurbishing vital irrigation infrastructure across Armenia in order to provide a more reliable supply of irrigation water, increase available farmland, and reduce operational costs. Increasing the productivity of Armenian farmers provides them with higher incomes and greater ability to properly maintain and operate irrigation systems, thereby helping to ensure the sustainability of MCC’s infrastructure investments.

MCC’s investments in Armenia include the rehabilitation of 17 irrigation pump stations; the construction of 5 gravity-fed irrigation systems; the refurbishment of over 27 kilometers of new canal lining; the installation of 244 water structures on six main canals; the rehabilitation and improvement of approximately 220 kilometers of tertiary canals across nearly 90 communities; and the rehabilitation of the Ararat Valley Drainage System.

MCC’s Compact with Armenia is also training nearly 45,000 farmers in improved agriculture practices, delivering technical assistance to water supply institutions, and providing $8.5 million in credit to farmers and small agribusinesses in support of the program objectives.

The Compact, which will be completed in September of this year, is expected to increase incomes by $425 million and benefit more than 420,000 rural residents in approximately 350 communities across the country.

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Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. Government agency designed to work with developing countries, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces sound political, economic, and social policies that promote poverty reduction through economic growth.  For more information, please visit www.mcc.gov.

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