“US Economic Support to Egypt, Post-Revolution”
was the topic of a March 22 , 2011breakfast meeting featuring James Bever, USAID mission director, at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel. Bever said that although Egypt is going through a broad economic slowdown caused by political instability, the positive effects of the revolution include reduced tolerance for corruption, the first free election in many generations and a revived sense of national pride.
After the revolution USAID immediately shifted $150 million into the Annual Program Statement (APS), a small grants program for emergency economic development, to be awarded on a rolling basis in five key areas: microfinance; youth unemployment and skills building; community development; poverty alleviation; and gender equity. Bever called on members of the private sector and civil society to cooperate in crafting innovative projects to spur economic growth. He encouraged projects that target Upper Egypt, where already high unemployment has been exacerbated by returning workers from Libya and the ailing Red Sea tourism industry. Bever said the response to the APS program has been positive.
He also noted that about $160 million from the US could be redirected if policy reform benchmarks are not met. The benchmarks set with the previous government include new bankruptcy, companies and customs laws, and Bever said negotiations were under way with the new Cabinet. Looking head, he said, USAID aims to increase cooperation with Egyptian partners in order to build the capacity of businesses and civil society.
During the question and answer session, Bever explained that APS funds would be awarded as direct grants to projects that address unemployment and community development while demonstrating accountability. He noted that trade-related proposals submitted before January are still in the pipeline and will be awarded soon. He also called attention to USAID’s support for education projects, including five agricultural schools that have attracted agrobusinesses interested in hiring graduates. Bever called on private sector companies to consider supporting these schools, either financially or as members of the schools’ boards of trustees, and to help graduates make connections that lead to good jobs.
In closing, Bever said Egypt’s role in the Middle East has always reminded him of the fulcrum of a pyramid, a focal point for economic and political conditions in the region. Referring to the ongoing process of democratization in Egypt, Bever quoted what he was recently told by an Egyptian: “We built the pyramids to last thousands of years, so we’ll take our time to build the foundation of a democracy that will last a thousand years.”
was the topic of a March 22 , 2011breakfast meeting featuring James Bever, USAID mission director, at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel. Bever said that although Egypt is going through a broad economic slowdown caused by political instability, the positive effects of the revolution include reduced tolerance for corruption, the first free election in many generations and a revived sense of national pride.
After the revolution USAID immediately shifted $150 million into the Annual Program Statement (APS), a small grants program for emergency economic development, to be awarded on a rolling basis in five key areas: microfinance; youth unemployment and skills building; community development; poverty alleviation; and gender equity. Bever called on members of the private sector and civil society to cooperate in crafting innovative projects to spur economic growth. He encouraged projects that target Upper Egypt, where already high unemployment has been exacerbated by returning workers from Libya and the ailing Red Sea tourism industry. Bever said the response to the APS program has been positive.
He also noted that about $160 million from the US could be redirected if policy reform benchmarks are not met. The benchmarks set with the previous government include new bankruptcy, companies and customs laws, and Bever said negotiations were under way with the new Cabinet. Looking head, he said, USAID aims to increase cooperation with Egyptian partners in order to build the capacity of businesses and civil society.
During the question and answer session, Bever explained that APS funds would be awarded as direct grants to projects that address unemployment and community development while demonstrating accountability. He noted that trade-related proposals submitted before January are still in the pipeline and will be awarded soon. He also called attention to USAID’s support for education projects, including five agricultural schools that have attracted agrobusinesses interested in hiring graduates. Bever called on private sector companies to consider supporting these schools, either financially or as members of the schools’ boards of trustees, and to help graduates make connections that lead to good jobs.
In closing, Bever said Egypt’s role in the Middle East has always reminded him of the fulcrum of a pyramid, a focal point for economic and political conditions in the region. Referring to the ongoing process of democratization in Egypt, Bever quoted what he was recently told by an Egyptian: “We built the pyramids to last thousands of years, so we’ll take our time to build the foundation of a democracy that will last a thousand years.”
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