John S. Wolf,
Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State
for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy

Excerpt from Testimony for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Subcommittee on Energy

April 12, 2000

"I'd like to take a moment to look at another issue that's an important complement to any sustainable energy policy. At independence, the regions' government inherited institutions and legal systems ill-suited for today's global economy. A mad rush toward exports that neglects the need for effective institutions, transparent and predictable laws, and balanced economic growth will only undermine that country's stability and distort economic development.

"We, and that means not only industrialized nations, but also private companies and international financial institutions, need to do more to encourage these countries to develop the policies and enact public sector reforms that enable them to cope with current austerity, and to prepare wisely for the increased revenue flows that will result from expanded energy exports. Restrictions on the United States' ability to help countries like Azerbaijan directly, because of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, clearly impede our ability to foster the kind of economic and political institutional development that this Congress so often champions."