[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47618-47619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22306]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC FR 09-17]


Report on Countries That Are Candidates for Millennium Challenge 
Account Eligibility in Fiscal Year 2010 and Countries That Would Be 
Candidates But for Legal Prohibitions

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 608(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 
requires the Millennium Challenge Corporation to publish a report that 
identifies countries that are ``candidate countries'' for Millennium 
Challenge Account assistance during FY 2010. The report is set forth in 
full below.

    Dated: September 10, 2009.
Henry C. Pitney,
(Acting) Vice President and General Counsel, Millennium Challenge 
Corporation.

Report on Countries That Are Candidates for Millennium Challenge 
Account Eligibility for Fiscal Year 2010 and Countries That Would Be 
Candidates But for Legal Prohibitions

    This report to Congress is provided in accordance with Section 
608(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, 22 U.S.C. 7701, 7707(a) 
(Act).
    The Act authorizes the provision of Millennium Challenge Account 
(MCA) assistance for countries that enter into Compacts with the United 
States to support policies and programs that advance the progress of 
such countries achieving lasting economic growth and poverty reduction. 
The Act requires Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to take a 
number of steps in selecting countries with which MCC will seek to 
enter into a compact, including (i) determining the countries that will 
be eligible for MCA assistance for fiscal year 2010 (FY10) based on a 
country's demonstrated commitment to (a) just and democratic 
governance, (b) economic freedom, and (c) investing in its people; and 
(ii) considering the opportunity to reduce poverty and generate 
economic growth in the country. These steps include the submission of 
reports to the congressional committees specified in the Act and the 
publication of notices in the Federal Register that identify:
    1. The countries that are ``candidate countries'' for MCA 
assistance for FY10 based on their per-capita income levels and their 
eligibility to receive assistance under U.S. law and countries that 
would be candidate countries but for specified legal prohibitions on 
assistance (section 608(a) of the Act);
    2. The criteria and methodology that the MCC Board of Directors 
(Board) will use to measure and evaluate the relative policy 
performance of the ``candidate countries'' consistent with the 
requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of section 607 of the Act in 
order to select ``MCA eligible countries'' from among the ``candidate 
countries'' (section 608(b) of the Act); and
    3. The list of countries determined by the Board to be ``MCA 
eligible countries'' for FY10, identification of such countries with 
which the Board will seek to enter into compacts, and justification for 
such eligibility determination and selection for compact negotiation 
(section 608(d) of the Act).
    This report is the first of three required reports listed above.

Candidate Countries for FY 2009

    The Act requires the identification of all countries that are 
candidates for MCA assistance for FY10 and the identification of all 
countries that would be candidate countries but for specified legal 
prohibitions on assistance. Sections 606(a) and (b) of the Act provide 
that for FY10 a country shall be a candidate for the MCA if it:
     Meets one of the following two income level tests:
    [cir] Has a per capita income equal to or less than the historical 
ceiling of the International Development Association eligibility for 
the fiscal year involved (or $1,855 gross national income (GNI) per 
capita for FY10) (the ``low income category''); or
    [cir] Is classified as a lower middle income country in the then 
most recent edition of the World Development Report for Reconstruction 
and Development published by the International Bank for Reconstruction 
and Development and has an income greater than the historical ceiling 
for International Development Association eligibility for the fiscal 
year involved (or $1,856 to $3,855 GNI per capita for FY10) (the 
``lower middle income category''); and
    [cir] Is not ineligible to receive U.S. economic assistance under 
part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, (the 
``Foreign Assistance Act''), by reason of the application of the 
Foreign Assistance Act or any other provision of law.
    Pursuant to section 606(c) of the Act, the Board has identified the 
following countries as candidate countries under the Act for FY10. In 
so doing, the Board has anticipated that prohibitions against 
assistance as applied to countries in the Department of State, Foreign 
Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2009 (Div. H, Pub. 
L. 111-8) (FY 2009 SFOAA), will again apply for FY10, even though the 
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 
Appropriations Act for FY10 has not yet been enacted and certain 
findings under other statutes have not yet been made. As noted below, 
MCC will provide any required updates on subsequent changes in 
applicable legislation or other circumstances that affects the status 
of any country as a candidate country for FY10.

Candidate Countries: Low Income Category

1. Afghanistan
2. Bangladesh
3. Benin
4. Bolivia
5. Burkina Faso
6. Burundi
7. Cambodia
8. Cameroon
9. Central African Republic
10. Chad
11. Comoros
12. Dem. Republic of the Congo
13. Djibouti
14. Egypt, Arab Rep.
15. Eritrea
16. Ethiopia
17. Gambia
18. Ghana
19. Guinea
20. Guinea Bissau
21. Guyana
22. Haiti
23. Honduras
24. India
25. Kenya
26. Kosovo

[[Page 47619]]

27. Kyrgyz Republic
28. Lao PDR
29. Lesotho
30. Liberia
31. Malawi
32. Mali
33. Moldova
34. Mongolia
35. Mozambique
36. Nepal
37. Nicaragua
38. Niger
39. Nigeria
40. Pakistan
41. Papua New Guinea
42. Rwanda
43. Sao Tome and Principe
44. Senegal
45. Sierra Leone
46. Solomon Islands
47. Somalia
48. Sri Lanka
49. Tajikistan
50. Tanzania
51. Togo
52. Uganda
53. Vietnam
54. Yemen, Rep.
55. Zambia

Candidate Countries: Lower Middle Income Category

1. Albania
2. Angola
3. Armenia
4. Azerbaijan
5. Belize
6. Bhutan
7. Cape Verde
8. Congo, Rep.
9. Ecuador
10. El Salvador
11. Georgia
12. Guatemala
13. Indonesia
14. Jordan
15. Kiribati
16. Maldives
17. Marshall Islands
18. Micronesia, Fed. Sts.
19. Morocco
20. Paraguay
21. Philippines
22. Samoa
23. Swaziland
24. Thailand
25. Timor-Leste
26. Tonga
27. Tunisia
28. Turkmenistan
29. Tuvalu
30. Ukraine
31. Vanuatu

Countries That Would Be Candidate Countries But for Legal Prohibitions 
That Prohibit Assistance

    Countries that would be considered candidate countries for FY10, 
but are ineligible to receive United States economic assistance under 
part I of the Foreign Assistance Act by reason of the application of 
any provision of the Foreign Assistance Act or any other provision of 
law are listed below. As noted above, this list is based on legal 
prohibitions against economic assistance that apply for FY 2009 and 
that are anticipated to apply again for FY10.

Prohibited Countries: Low Income Category

    1. Burma is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to section 570 of the FY 1997 Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (P.L. 104-208) 
which prohibits assistance to the government of Burma until it makes 
progress on improving human rights and implementing democratic 
government, and due to its status as a major drug-transit or major 
illicit drug producing country for 2008 (Presidential Determination 
No. 2008-28 (9/16/2008)) and a Tier III country under the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (Presidential Determination No. 
2009-5 (10/17/2008)).
    2. Cote d'Ivoire is subject to section 7008 of the FY 2009 
SFOAA, which prohibits assistance to the government of a country 
whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or 
decree.
    3. Madagascar is subject to section 7008 of the FY 2009 SFOAA, 
which prohibits assistance to the government of a country whose duly 
elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree.
    4. Mauritania is subject to section 7008 of the FY 2009 SFOAA, 
which prohibits assistance to the government of a country whose duly 
elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree.
    5. North Korea is subject to numerous restrictions, including 
section 7076 of the FY 2009 SFOAA which prohibits any direct 
assistance to the government.
    6. Sudan is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which 
prohibits assistance to governments supporting international 
terrorism, section 7012 of the FY 2009 SFOAA, and section 620(q) of 
the Foreign Assistance Act, both of which prohibit assistance to 
countries in default in payment to the U.S. in certain 
circumstances, section 7008 of the FY 2009 SFOAA, which prohibits 
assistance to a country whose duly elected head of government being 
deposed by military coup or decree, and section 7070(b) of the FY 
2009 SFOAA.
    7. Uzbekistan's central government is subject to section 7076 of 
the FY 2009 SFOAA, which states that funds may be made available for 
assistance to the central government of Uzbekistan only if the 
Secretary of State determines and reports to the Congress that the 
government is making substantial and continuing progress in meeting 
its commitments under a framework agreement with the United States.
    8. Zimbabwe is subject to Section 620(q) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act and section 7012 of the FY 2009 SFOAA, which prohibit 
assistance to countries in default in payment to the United States 
in certain circumstances, and section 7070(e) of the FY 2009 SFOAA 
which prohibits assistance to the central government of Zimbabwe in 
the absence of a waiver by the Secretary of State.

Prohibited Countries: Lower Middle Income Category

    1. China is not eligible to receive economic assistance from the 
United States, absent special authority, because of concerns 
relative to China's record on human rights.
    2. Iran is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which 
prohibits assistance to governments supporting international 
terrorism and section 7007 of the FY 2009 SFOAA which prohibits 
direct assistance.
    3. Iraq is subject to section 7042 of the FY 2009 SFOAA, which 
prohibits the use of FY 2009 SFOAA funds for assistance for Iraq, 
and section 620(t) of the Foreign Assistance Act which prohibits 
assistance to a country which has severed diplomatic relations with 
the United States, until such diplomatic relations are restored and 
framework bilateral assistance agreements are in place.
    4. Syria is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which prohibits 
assistance to governments supporting international terrorism, 
section 7007 of the FY 2009 SFOAA which prohibits direct assistance, 
and section 7012 of the FY 2009 SFOAA and section 620(q) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act, both of which prohibit assistance to 
countries in default in payment to the U.S. in certain 
circumstances.
    Countries identified above as candidate countries, as well as 
countries that would be considered candidate countries but for the 
applicability of legal provisions that prohibit U.S. economic 
assistance, may be the subject of future statutory restrictions or 
determinations, or changed country circumstances, that affect their 
legal eligibility for assistance under part I of the Foreign 
Assistance Act by reason of application of Foreign Assistance Act or 
any other provision of law for FY10. MCC will include any required 
updates on such statutory eligibility that affect countries' 
identification as candidate countries for FY10, at such time as it 
publishes the notices required by sections 608(b) and 608(d) of the 
Act or at other appropriate times. Any such updates with regard to 
the legal eligibility or ineligibility of particular countries 
identified in this report will not affect the date on which the 
Board is authorized to determine eligible countries from among 
candidate countries which, in accordance with section 608(a) of the 
Act, shall be no sooner than 90 days from the date of publication of 
this report.
[FR Doc. E9-22306 Filed 9-11-09; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P