Middle East
Documents & Texts from State.gov
03 November, 2009
Secretary Clinton Announces Global Partnerships to Advance Cairo’s “New
Beginning”
Marrakesh, Morocco
Secretary Clinton delivered a major speech on November 3 in Marrakesh, Morocco
at the Forum for the Future, an initiative of the countries of the Broader
Middle East and North Africa region (BMENA), the G8 countries, and civil
society and private sector groups. She reaffirmed the commitment of the United
States to broad engagement with Muslim communities around the world and outlined
concrete steps the United States is taking to follow up on the “New
Beginning” that President Obama launched in Cairo. Secretary Clinton
focused on partnerships to promote civil society, entrepreneurship and economic
development, educational opportunity, scientific and technological collaboration,
women’s empowerment, and interfaith cooperation.
Examples of these initiatives include:
Entrepreneurship and Job Creation
The United States will be a partner in advancing entrepreneurship,
job creation and economic opportunity in Muslim communities by providing
tools and investing in pioneering local stake-holders and programs. These
partnerships will emphasize local ownership and lasting results. Projects
include:
- Convening an Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington, D.C. in
early 2010 to bring together innovators and leaders in Muslim communities
around the world and America’s business leaders to advance entrepreneurship
and create economic opportunity.
- Supporting the launch of a Global Virtual Entrepreneurship Network to
connect entrepreneurs with each other as well as a broad range of stake-holders,
including investors, mentor networks and business support services, educational
institutions, NGOs, and foundations before the next Forum for the Future.
- Fostering Multilateral Partnerships with efforts such as investments
in the International Finance Corporation’s Private Enterprise Partnership
(PEP-MENA II) and in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s
program supporting of human capital development.
- Initiating Youth:Work, a five-year, $30 million USAID project
to meet the needs of vulnerable youth in Jordan and their communities,
in collaboration with the Government of Jordan, the private sector, and
NGO partners.
- Launching a $76 million comprehensive, multi-sector initiative in Yemen
to increase economic opportunities, improve delivery of social services,
and enhance local governance and civic participation.
Science and Technology
The United States will be a partner in laying the foundation of knowledge
economies that will spur innovation, and will support societies in grappling
with their greatest economic and environmental challenges. Initiatives include:
- Establishing the U.S. Science Envoy Program in which three of
America’s most prominent scientists, Dr Ahmed Zewail, Dr. Bruce Alberts
and Dr. Elias Zerhouni, will travel to countries in North Africa, the Middle
East, and South and Southeast Asia to engage their counterparts, deepen
and develop partnerships in all areas of science and technology, and foster
meaningful collaboration to address common challenges and realized shared
opportunities.
- Debuting the Global Technology and Innovation Fund through which
the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will catalyze and facilitate
private-sector investments in programs in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa
in technology, education, telecom, media, business services and financial
technology and green technologies.
Education and Exchanges
The United States is committed to supporting education to prepare
young people throughout the world to seize the opportunities of the 21st
century. Initiatives include:
- Contributing $45 million to the Government of Pakistan’s Higher
Education Commission (HEC) to expand partnerships and exchanges,
to support infrastructure upgrades and teacher training, and to increase
access to education, especially for young people, women, and those
living in vulnerable areas.
- Sponsoring the BMENA Community and Technical College Grants Program to
create partnerships between U.S. community colleges and community and technical
colleges in the BMENA region.
- Allocating $7.25 million for Higher-Ed Scholarships for underserved
secondary school students in the BMENA region to attend American-accredited
universities.
- Investing $12.5 million in USAID’s new Youth Education Project in
Morocco to provide quality educational services for out-of-school youth
and to develop policies and institutional networks to facilitate the delivery
of education.
Civil Society 2.0
The United States is launching Civil Society 2.0, an initiative to
empower grassroots civil society organizations around the world by helping
them use digital technology. It will include:
- Deploying a team of experienced technologists to work with civil society
organizations and provide training and support to build digital capacity.
- Funding new empowerment connection technologies with $5 million for pilot
programs to bolster the new media and networking capabilities of civil
society organizations, as well as online learning, in the Middle East and
North Africa.
Women’s Empowerment
Empowering women and girls and expanding their opportunities to participate
fully in all aspects of their societies, are core priorities of the United
States. Efforts include:
· Providing initial
funding for the launch of the BMENA Regional Gender Institute, which
will make grants, conduct research, promote scholarship related to gender
issues and encourage active participation of diverse groups.
· Allocating $2
million to fund Innovative Women’s Empowerment Programs that will strengthen
women’s participation in all aspects of society and promote women’s
equality in the Middle East and North Africa.
Inter-Faith Engagement
The United States has a longstanding history of openness and respect
for all faiths, including Islam, and seeks to deepen mutual understanding
and create new partnerships with Muslim communities around the world. The
United States will partner with Muslim-majority host countries in different
regions to hold biannual Inter-Faith Working Groups that will bring
together leaders across faith communities, government, civil society, and
the private sector to create actionable plans for addressing common challenges
affecting all of our communities.
***
Secretary Clinton also announced several major initiatives in Pakistan last
week, including partnerships on energy, education, law
enforcement, and assistance
for internal refugees. More information is available here: http://www.state.gov/secretary/trvl/2009/130992.htm.
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