Sarajevo, January 31, 2013 – The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is pleased to announce that USAID Mission Director David Barth will present certificates of achievements to 21 high-ranking officials from BiH public sector institutions for their participation in the Code of Conduct/Ethics Training for Civil Servants, including representatives of the BiH Agency for Civil Servants and the BiH Agency for the Fight Against Corruption.  The ceremony will take place at 11:00 on Monday, February 4, 2013, in the UNITIC Building, 21st floor.  All media are invited to attend. 
Through its financial sector reform initiative, USAID organized a training program for civil servants and public officials to present general principles of professional standards and ethics in the public sector.  Participants learned about standards of conduct for civil servants and how to put such principles into practice.  They learned how to recognize and handle to conflict-of-interest situations, maintain professional integrity and transparency, and protect public property.  The goal of this USAID training program is to develop values that guide the judgment of public officials as they perform their daily tasks and to improve public sector accountability in the use of public funds. 

USAID supports financial sector reform in BiH through its Partnership for Advancing Reforms in the Economy project, which represents a long-standing partnership with both BiH institutions and the private sector.  This initiative helps strengthen the regulatory framework for the financial services sector, improve the financial administration of public resources, and improve the environment for private sector investment and growth.

To date, the U.S. Government, primarily through USAID, has provided almost $1.6 billion in assistance to support economic, democratic, and social progress in BiH.  For more information, please visit http://bosnia.usaid.gov or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/USAIDBIH.