ANCA Welcomes Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Dialogue with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman

January 13, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), following a recent discussion with Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), welcomed his support, as Chairman of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee, for a new, education-oriented Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant for public schools in Armenia.

“We deeply appreciate Chairman Royce’s active interest in securing a second round of MCC funding for Armenia and look forward to working with his colleagues in the 115th Congress on a broad array of initiatives to strengthen Armenia and grow U.S.-Armenia relations,” said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian.

Seeking MCC funding for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education is part of the ANCA’s federal legislative agenda, a 360-degree advocacy program that seeks to strengthen Armenia economically, grow U.S.-Armenia relations, defend Artsakh’s security, and end U.S. complicity in Ankara’s obstruction of justice for the Armenian Genocide.

In an Op/Ed published in the Armenian media last October, ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian praised past MCC support for Armenia, noting: “As much as the first MCC grant accomplished, there is much more to be done. A second compact holds the potential to deliver a new round of transformative change to Armenia, at a truly pivotal moment in Armenia’s development. Such a future compact could, for example, provide hundreds of millions of dollars to empower Armenia’s public school students with the advanced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education required in the rapidly evolving 21st Century workforce. Such a grant would add new energy to Armenia’s growing IT sector, promoting the development of an advanced and sustainable Armenian economy fully integrated into the international financial system.”

The ANCA continues to actively communicate with key stakeholders – in America and Armenia – regarding the long-term benefits of a new education-focused MCC compact empowering Armenia’s youth, bolstering Armenia’s IT sector, and strengthening the U.S.-Armenia trade and investment relationship. An ANCA action alert supporting U.S.-Armenia economic initiatives can be found at www.anca.org/Trade.

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