Mr. President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, it is an enormous honor for me to be here today with my AID colleagues with this signing event. This third loan guarantee is designed to bolster the tangible and significant reform progress that you, Mr. President, and the Ukrainian government have been able to achieve. In this regard it is a substantial and important vote of confidence in you and in the new Ukraine. And it is a signal of our commitment to continue standing with the people of Ukraine. In addition to supporting reforms that you have already accomplished together, the conditions precedent for this loan guarantee are designed to encourage further progress which in turn will lay the foundation for sustainable growth and the prosperity that we all believe the Ukrainian people deserve.
As with the previous loan guarantees, our conditions reinforce continued adherence to the IMF program as well as other critical steps that are needed to restore economic stability, strengthen the rule of law, governance, and strengthen the social safety net, advancing critical structural reforms to capitalize on all the hard work that Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, the Ukrainian people have done over the past two years.
In this regard, Mr. President, I in particular want to signal my appreciation, the United States’ appreciation, of the leadership that you have exercised on the issue of the Prosecutor General’s Office, and to note how satisfied we are with the partnership that we have begun to build with your new Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko. This is critically important both to building the investment climate that will allow for sustainable growth in this country but also to establish a prosecutor’s office that truly enjoys the credibility, the confidence and the support of the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian leadership.
I want to congratulate you, the Prime Minister (Volodymyr Groysman), and Speaker (Andriy) Parubiy for yesterday’s accomplishment with the constitutional reforms in the judiciary sector. This is so important, and I think it was a very hopeful signal to the international community that there was rather broad support across the Rada for that outcome. I can tell you, I was watching on television as the numbers popped up on the count and I did not expect 335. I think it was a very important signal to the world that Ukraine is united. The political forces agree on your vision, Mr. President, of a reformed, European, democratic Ukraine.
So the goal here is to help Ukraine take its rightful place as a vibrant, innovative, prosperous democracy, anchored in Europe and European institutions. We know that that takes hard work, we know that that takes leadership, so I congratulate you on all that you’ve accomplished.
One last note I would make, we have a visit today from a large delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, chaired by Congressmen (Peter) Roskam (Republican) from Illinois who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee of our House of Representatives.
It’s an important signal of Congressional support for the work that you are doing here. It’s important because our House of Representatives has the fiscal authority in our system, so that’s where the money comes from. And I am especially glad Chairman Roskam and many of the members of his delegation were here last year, that they are able to return to Ukraine and see all the progress that’s being made. So again, I want to underline, Mr. President, the importance of this third loan guarantee as a concrete manifestation the United States stands with the government and people of Ukraine. Congratulations.
