Paul Applegarth Holds Forum On the Millennium Challenge Corporation-Madagascar Compact: A Partnership for Poverty Reduction

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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION HOLDS FORUM ON THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION-MADAGASCAR COMPACT: A PARTNERSHIP FOR POVERTY REDUCTION THROUGH GROWTH

APRIL 19, 2005

SPEAKERS: JESSICA P. EINHORN, DEAN, SAIS

PAUL APPLEGARTH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

MINISTER BENJAMIN RADAVIDSON, ECONOMY AND FINANCE MINISTRY, GOVERNMENT OF MADAGASCAR

WITNESSES: MARC RAVALOMANANA, PRESIDENT, MADAGASCAR

EMMA RALIJON, MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF MADAGASCAR

JOHN HEWKO, MCC VICE PRESIDENT OF COUNTRY PROGRAMS

MICHAEL GROSSMAN, MCC COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR FRANCOPHONE AFRICA

[*] EINHORN: Good morning. We'll invite everybody to take seats now. And we'll begin the program.

The president is here.

Good morning. I'm Jessica Einhorn. I'm the dean of SAIS. And I'm delighted that we have such a wonderful crowd for this auspicious event.

SAIS is honored to host President Ravalomanana, president of Madagascar, and Paul Applegarth, the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. As together, they celebrate the award of MCC's first grant to reduce poverty by supporting sustainable economic growth.

We have a full program today with an introduction to the MCC and its grant-making process, followed by keynote remarks by the president, and then a panel discussion moderated by our own esteemed professor and director of African studies at SAIS, Dr. Gilbert Khadiagala.

Let me begin with the great personal pleasure of introducing Paul Applegarth who took on the task of creating the MCC and has brought it to this important milestone with the signing of its first grant. Paul and I first met decades ago when I was a junior officer in the World Bank and he was a brilliant financial analyst in the financial policy division.

His passion for development extends back to his service as an Army officer in Vietnam where he worked to establish schools and train medics after completing his undergraduate studies at Yale. When he returned from service, he returned to university, earning both a law degree and an MBA at Harvard with honors.

Paul's career straddles public and private sectors, using his leadership and great analytic skills to make contributions to international development every step of the way. Prior to assuming this position, Paul Applegarth was a managing director of Emerging Markets Partnership, founded by SAIS's good friends, Don Roth, president, who is on our advisory council, and Moeen Qureshi, chairman of the board of the EMC, former president of Pakistan, who has been such a good friend to our South Asia studies program.

Paul left EMC to accept an appointment at the State Department. And I well remember hearing Colin Powell speak with such pride at a dinner at State when he recruited Paul Applegarth to begin the task of establishing the MCC. Secre...

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