FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 12, 2002

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Lawrence Spinelli (202) 336-8690
Timothy Harwood (202) 336-8744

OPIC PROGRAMS OPEN IN KOSOVO, U.S. INVESTMENT URGED 

UN official: OPIC 'example' for other nations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An agreement between the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has enabled OPIC to make its products and services available in Kosovo. OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson urged U.S. companies to take advantage of the development to invest in the region as it recovers from civil war.

“Private sector investment will be crucial to the economic growth of Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia. This agreement demonstrates that the Bush Administration is committed to investment-led development that will both improve the lives of people in the region and provide good opportunities to U.S. companies,” Dr. Watson said, noting that OPIC programs were also open in the Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro.

U.N. Special Representative for the Secretary General Michael Steiner said, “the existence of this OPIC agreement should make it much more attractive for the American private sector to invest in Kosovo. I would like to see this example followed by other nations.”

Dr. Watson noted that OPIC concluded a new bilateral agreement between the United States and Yugoslavia last July, among other benefits enabling the OPIC-supported $150 million Southeast Europe Equity Fund, managed by Soros Private Funds Management, to invest in Yugoslavia, as it may in eight other countries of southeastern Europe.

OPIC was established as an independent agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

Over the agency’s 30-year history, OPIC has supported $142 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over $11 billion in host-government revenues and create over 673,000 host-country jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $64 billion in U.S. exports and create more than 253,000 American jobs.