Washington, D.C - The annual Leadership Conference organized by The Washington Group, an association of Ukrainian American professionals, took place in Washington DC during the weekend of October 6 through October 8, 2000. The topic of this year's conference was "Ukraine: Integrating Into The Global Community." It was attended by an array of representatives from both the United States and Ukrainian governments, and included respected scholars as well as other qualified individuals with interests in Ukraine.

Keynote speaker Oleksii Berezhnyi stated in his address that there were five key areas where Ukraine is working with the United States to bring about economic progress or to resolve outstanding issues. Those were: (1) the normalization of trade relations with the United States and to achieve most favored nation status, (2) support from the United States in working with the international financial institutions, (3) support from the United States in Ukraine's efforts to join the World Trade Organization, (4) financial support for the commitment Ukraine has made to close down Chernobyl, and (5) work to resolve intellectual property rights issues.

Dr. Oleh Havrylyshyn said he was speaking for himself and was presenting his own ideas at the conference not those of the IMF. Dr. Havrylyshyn feels that Ukraine should move along the path of integrating with Europe and continue the quest to be a member of the European Union (EU). "This strategy will provide Ukraine with (1) a solid anchor from which to make the internal changes necessary to harmonize with Europe, (2) will bring about additional international investment in Ukraine in advance of any actual membership in the EU, (3) could be the critical strategy necessary for balancing Ukraine's position between the East and the West, and (4) would provide the anchor from which to develop a secure nation state." Dr Havrylyshyn said. He continued by saying Ukraine should seriously consider the concept that the best road from Kyiv to Moscow goes through Brussels.

Ambassador Taylor addressed many of the issues and the technical assistance programs the U.S. Government has in relation to Ukraine. The Ambassador talked about the movement toward integration with Europe, the issue of an open, transparent society, the building of a market driven economic system, the problems faced by the press in Ukraine, the issue of corruption, monopolies and other issues related to building a stronger civil society in Ukraine.