Democratic and economic development and prosperity initiatives

The Secretary of State, through ongoing and new programs, should develop an initiative that— strengthens existing national anti-corruption strategies— It is the sense of Congress that— Not later than 180 days after December 18, 2025, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a regional economic development and democratic resilience strategy for the Western Balkans that— includes an initial assessment of— Not later than 90 days after December 18, 2025, the Secretary of State shall provide a briefing to the appropriate committees of Congress that describes the progress made towards developing the strategy required under paragraph (2). The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, may coordinate a regional economic connectivity and development initiative for the region comprised of each Western Balkans country and any European Union member country that shares a border with a Western Balkans country (referred to in this subsection as the “Western Balkans region”) in accordance with this subsection. The initiative authorized under paragraph (1) shall— support startup companies, including companies led by youth or women, in the Western Balkans region by— provide assistance to the governments and civil society organizations of Western Balkans countries to develop— promote intraregional economic connectivity throughout the Western Balkans region through— The initiative authorized under paragraph (1) should facilitate and prioritize support for regional infrastructure projects, including— investment transparency programs that will help countries in the Western Balkans analyze gaps and establish institutional and regulatory reforms necessary— All programming under the initiative authorized under paragraph (1) should— Not later than 1 year after December 18, 2025, subject to the availability of appropriations, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, should consider including a regional office with responsibilities for the Western Balkans within the Corporation’s plans to open new regional offices. Not later than 180 days after December 18, 2025, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation and the Secretary of State should submit a joint report to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes—