“The Obama Administration strongly supports EITI”

Last week the EITI and its partners held several meetings in Washington DC. Deputy Assistant to the US President, Michael Froman, expressed his government's strong support for the EITI and its principles, while speaking at a reception hosted by EITI Chairman Peter Eigen. Member of the EITI Board, Anthony Richter, reported from the event:

Froman recalled that among President Obama's very first official acts he issued an executive order directing that "government should be transparent...government should be participatory...and government should be collaborative" and that every move the administration makes is thought through from this perspective. Among the key words of encouragement were "the Obama Administration strongly supports EITI" and notes its unique achievement of bringing together public sector, private sector and the nonprofit sector.

During the 9th EITI Board meeting on 15 May, Albania, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Zambia were accepted as EITI Candidates. Other meetings during the week involved some 100 people from 50 countries, covering issues including improving EITI reporting, subnational implementation of the EITI process, and civil society engagement in the EITI process.