"We see Ukraine's progress in anti-corruption reform"- US Ambassador Brink

She said this in a commentary to Espreso correspondent Natalia Starepravo during the conference ‘Ukraine on the Road to OECD and accession to OECD Anti-Bribery Convention’ in Kyiv.

‘I am very happy to be here today with the speaker of the parliament, members of the parliament and the government to talk about the importance of anti-corruption reforms. I want to say that they are crucial to support the heroes on the frontline, they are also very important for Ukraine's recovery and its ability to attract private sector investment. And finally, it is very important to support Ukrainians in their hopes and dreams of joining the EU and NATO,’ she explained.

Brink noted the ‘real progress’ made by Ukraine over the past two years in many areas, including the reintroduction of asset declarations, the appointment of heads of anti-corruption institutions, and the digitization of services.

‘These are really significant steps, and it is very important that they continue. The United States is proud to support them, and we are here today to discuss the steps that Ukraine is taking to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Corruption Convention. It is now a participant, and we would like to see it become a full member,’ she stressed.

According to her, this will help ‘make some anti-corruption institutions even more effective’.

‘And that's why the United States, along with our G7 and EU partners, strongly supports this step, and we're here to talk about it, to congratulate you on your success, and to encourage you to take further steps with international support,’ the US Ambassador to Ukraine concluded.

As a reminder, the conference ‘Ukraine on the Road to OECD and Accession to OECD Anti-Bribery Convention’ is taking place in Kyiv on September 16.

The event focuses on the challenges Ukraine faces on its way to joining the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the steps needed to overcome them.

• On July 18, the Ukrainian parliament passed in the first reading a draft law to improve the efficiency of plea bargaining in criminal proceedings for corruption offenses.
• On July 19, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyn said that the draft law on improving the efficiency of plea bargaining in criminal proceedings for corruption offenses was already being assessed by the European Commission.