The two sides reiterated their commitment to the program of technical economic cooperation outlined by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev at Malta in December and expressed a desire to expand the scope and number of joint projects. This program is a concrete expression of U.S. and Soviet commitment to work together in support of economic perestroyka. Its goal is to advance the process of market-oriented economic reform by sharing experience and expertise regarding the problems and opportunities involved in building market structures and institutions.
Projects and contacts currently underway at the expert level include statistical cooperation, development of small businesses, establishment of financial markets, banking reform, and tax administration. The two sides also had useful discussions on economic policy issues during visits by the Soviet Minister of Finance and State Bank Chairman to Washington, and the Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board to Moscow.
The two sides will work to expand the scope of current cooperation projects and in particular to develop new projects in areas of special interest, including anti-trust issues, enterprise management, and economic education. The two sides also noted that private exchanges and projects can be consistent with and complement technical cooperation. Both sides believe that technical economic cooperation is in their mutual benefit in promoting the successful development of market-oriented reforms.
Note: The joint statement was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary but was not issued as a White House press release.
George Bush, Soviet-United States Joint Statement on Technical Economic Cooperation Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/263978