FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. Embassy
September 23, 2004

U.S. Assistance Visit

As part of the U.S. effort to ease the isolation of Turkish Cypriots and promote economic growth in the Turkish Cypriot community, a team of experts from the U.S.-based consulting and financial services firm BearingPoint has arrived in Cyprus for a three-week mission.  The team, whose visit is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will meet with a wide variety of people in order to better understand the economic circumstances on the island, especially those faced by Turkish Cypriots.  This study will help provide the context in which the U.S. will program an additional $30.5 million in foreign assistance funds as previously announced for economic growth in the Turkish Cypriot community. 

This additional assistance package is intended to augment existing bicommunal programs and facilitate reunification of the island by supporting economic growth in the Turkish Cypriot community in ways that will (1) enable the Turkish Cypriot economy to shoulder its share of the economic costs of a settlement; (2) contribute to Turkish Cypriot-Greek Cypriot economic interaction; and (3) advance the adoption and implementation of European Union standards and practices across the island.  It is also meant to address Greek Cypriot concerns that a settlement will be disproportionately and prohibitively expensive for the Greek Cypriot side—concerns that the U.S. government takes very seriously.

BearingPoint is a U.S.-based consulting and financial services firm.  The team working on Cyprus will include seven experts in different areas including economic growth, competitiveness, and financial sector management.

The U.S. assistance program that the BearingPoint team will help design is a concrete demonstration of the American commitment to helping Cypriots build a better future.  The U.S. Government will program its foreign assistance in a transparent manner and will remain sensitive to the complex issues involved.  This initiative reflects no change in our recognition policy.