Foreign Assistance: U.S. Economic and Democratic Assistance to the Central Asian Republics
Abstract
With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five countries that comprise the Central Asian Republics (CAR) 1-Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-becarne independent along with Russia and the other former republics of the Soviet Union. The United States has important strategic interests in CAR, including dismantling Kazakhstan's nuclear arsenal; developing oil and gas reserves; and helping stabilize a region surrounded by China, Iran, and Russia. The FREEDOM Support Act of 1992 authorized a broad foreign assistance program for the independent states of the former Soviet Union that included development of market-oriented economies and democracy building.2 Since fiscal year 1993, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided about $274 million for economic and democratic reform initiatives in the five republics. Expressing concern about what USAID has accomplished in CAR and USAID's oversight of its CAR programs, the Chairman, House Committee on International Relations, asked GAO to determine * what USAID's economic and democratic reform initiatives in CAR were designed to achieve; what has been accomplished; and what factors, if any, have limited the implementation of reforms; * whether lessons learned from similar USAID programs in Central Europe3 and Russia have been applied in CAR; and * how USAID ensures that its assistance funds in CAR are spent for intended purposes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA369570
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office