There was a lot of talking about Kyrgyzstan entering the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) program, and finally, USA and Kyrgyzstan signed the agreement on Millennium Challenge Threshold Program. The document was signed between at the White House in Bishkek, informs the official website of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. This program with $16 million budget is intended to improve the judicial and police (militia) systems of Kyrgyzstan, the government capability of investigating and prosecuting corruption cases, and educating mass-media in publishing on these issues. Participation in this program bounds Kyrgyzstan to implement substantial reforms in this area and the US government will be helping with it. Says the MCC CEO Ambassador John Danilovich:

“In addition to implementing the reforms outlined within this program, significant reforms must continue to be made outside the program in order for the Kyrgyz Republic to improve its scores on the MCC selection criteria. This includes the areas of media freedom, improvements in the election process, decentralization and democratization. The success of this threshold program depends on the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic’s commitment to the ongoing process of democratization. The U.S. government has expressed concerns about the conduct of this past December’s parliamentary elections in the Kyrgyz Republic and has expressed its hopes that the reforms under the threshold program will lead to greater transparency, a vital step in establishing a more open and democratic nation.”

It is an interesting fact that the decision on accepting Kyrgyzstan to this program was made right before the start of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which was held last year in Bishkek. Probably, it is just a mere coincidence. Hopefully, this program will bring the real help to Kyrgyzstan and the government officials will not create obstacles for it.