BRAMA, August 9, 2001, 9am ET

WARREN, MI — Government leaders and international foreign-policy experts will gather in Washington, DC, to analyze Ukraine’s strategic role in world and regional affairs at a follow-up conference to last year’s successful inaugural session, called "Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood: Roundtable II — Taking Measure of a U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership."

This year’s gathering will be held at the U.S. Congress, Thursday, September 20, and Friday, September 21. According to the conference’s organizers, the Organization for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine, the roster of speakers will include government officials from Ukraine, the United States and Eastern European countries, as well as prominent leaders from financial institutions, research centers and academia.

The conference will feature 13 panels, divided among four principal sessions, two working lunches, two focus sessions and an evening reception. Organizers said that 73 speakers, 24 of whom are expected to be from Ukraine, will be featured at the conference.

"Over the course of the past decade, relations between the United States and Ukraine have undergone significant change. Two principal, overarching factors have emerged, which today constitute and justify the strategic nature of that relationship: global security and regional stability. Beyond these core considerations, there are critical direct benefits to be derived form a strong bilateral relationship," observed Bohdan Fedorak, president of the sponsoring organization.

Mr. Fedorak noted that the purpose of the conference is to objectively assess the capacity of the United States and Ukraine to make the requisite political, economic, diplomatic and military commitments to the realization of these strategic goals.

The year’s conference is being held on the occasion of the 10^th anniversary of Ukraine’s restored independence, which should figure prominently in the participants’ analyses.

The year 2000 conference, which hosted 84 speakers, was held at the Library of Congress and at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. Major sessions of that conference were webcast live worldwide and, according to the sponsors, efforts are underway to simulcast via the Internet this year’s session. Last year’s conference was videotaped in its entirety by the U.S. Department of State for frequent airing at special occasions. A complete transcript of the proceedings was produced for the purposes of publishing a monograph in both English and Ukrainian.

For attendance information, contact the Organization for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine at (810) 757-7910.

SPONSOR:
Organization for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine
26601 Ryan Road
Warren, MI 48091
Tel.: (810) 757-8684
www.FourFreedoms.net

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