Armenia MAAC Project Participates in OECD Anticorruption Conference in Kazakhstan
Francois Vezina, Casals & Associates Chief of Party for the Mobilizing Action Against Corruption (MAAC) Project in Armenia, recently attended a key conference on fighting corruption and promoting good governance in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The conference, taking place from Sept. 16 to 18, 2009, in Astana, Kazakhstan, resulted in the Sept. 16, 2009, adoption of the the Astana Statement on Good Governance and Fighting Corruption. The statement aims to reinforce support for fighting corruption and good governance in the countries that are part of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Corruption Network (ACN) for Eastern Europe and Central Asia as well as reconfirm the resolution of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan countries.
OECD established the ACN in 1998 to support its Eastern European, Caucasian and Central Asian member countries in their fight against corruption. In September 2003, ACN created the Istanbul Action Plan as an anticorruption initiative for select ACN members: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Ukraine.
The conference was organised by OECD and hosted by the Agency for Combating Economic and Corruption Crime of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It brought together some 130 representatives from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, OECD member countries and beyond. Casals & Associates’ MAAC project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was fully represented along with a representative from Armenia’s Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor General’s Office.
In addition to adopting the Astana Statement on Good Governance and Fighting Corruption, the conference focused on policies, progress made and good practice in four key areas:
- The fight against transnational bribery
- Corruption and business
- Corruption and public education
- Corruption and public procurement
Contact
Larry Ott
Director of Corporate Communications
+1-703-920-1234
lott@casals.com
