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History
Speeches & Interviews
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Peter Mulrean to l'Expression
October 18, 2006 1- You chair a regional institution under the authority of the U.S. Department of State called MEPI. What are the objectives of your institution ? Launched in December 2002, the Middle East Partnership Initiative is managed by the State Department – our equivalent of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs – to enable the United States to underpin its overall foreign policy objective of supporting democracy in the Arab World with tangible support to democratic reformers in the region. Over the past four years, MEPI has funded more than 400 projects in 15 countries for more than $350 million. This is a concrete demonstration that the new U.S. approach to the Arab World is not just rhetoric, nor is it just about dealing with governments. Rather, it is aimed at supporting real people who are committed to building a positive future in their countries. 2- What is the difference between the American Great Middle East and MEPI ? The Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) initiative is a multilateral effort that brings together the governments of the G-8, Arab world and other prominent countries of the Muslim world, as well as representatives of Civil Society and Business from across the region. In December, Jordan will host the third Ministerial meeting of the Forum for the Future, an annual gathering which is part of the BMENA initiative where we take stock of our common work in important reform areas. BMENA’s efforts are fully consistent with the priorities of MEPI. The difference is that MEPI is the U.S. Government’s bilateral initiative supporting reform projects in the Arab world. 3- If your goal is to support large reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, why have you waited for more than 60 years to do it ? The United States decision to create MEPI and support reforms was based on a reassessment of the situation in the Arab World and our policy towards the region. We agreed with the bleak assessment of the UNDP’s Arab Human Development Report in 2002. Its authors -- all Arab scholars -- pointed to the lack of freedom, the lack of knowledge and the limitation of women’s rights as key factors holding the Arab world back from reaching its full potential. But in our assessment, we also recognized an opportunity. The people of the Arab World seek freedom and opportunity just like everyone else, and there is a growing community of reformers emerging. The outside world can and should support those people seeking to improve their systems through democratic means. Based on this analysis, we concluded that U.S. policy towards the Arab World – which had long supported the status quo – had to change. So, the U.S. began pursuing a two-track approach. The first track is diplomatic: urging governments in the region to undertake genuine steps toward democratic governance. The second track is programmatic: supporting in practical ways individuals and groups striving to reform their countries and build a better future. This second track led to the creation of MEPI. 4- One of the first obstacles that may hamper this initiative is the feeling of anti Americanism in some Arab and Muslim countries. How are you planning to overcome these obstacles ? With time, persistence and concrete action. When I made my first round of visits across the region after opening the MEPI Regional Office in August 2004, most Arab reformers met me with skepticism. And that was when they were willing to meet me at all. They offered different reasons for their skepticism: some didn’t think the U.S. was sincere about reform; some didn’t like certain U.S. policies; others were afraid that they would be tarnished, or even endangered, by being closely associated with the U.S. This was one of the key reasons why we created the MEPI Regional Offices – to have people on the ground to deal with the day-to-day reality of the challenges we face. The only way I know of to address such skepticism is with engagement and perseverance. So, we keep at it, engaging with those who are willing to engage with us, one by one. Over time, the number of reformers willing to engage with us has grown tremendously. I believe the main reason for that is that they have concluded that the U.S. is genuinely committed to promoting democracy. As they have watched our clear, political statements at the highest levels combined with concrete support to reformers on the ground, their skepticism has faded. It’s not that they now agree with everything we do, but they have identified that they and we have a common interest in promoting democratic change. A clear sign of this evolution is the number of groups who avoided us in the past, but are now coming to us with ideas for reform projects for which they are seeking MEPI support. 5- During your visit to Algiers last February, you raised with some Algerian senior officials the possibility of expanding MEPI activities. Can we know sectors selected after your discussions ? We have already supported programs in Algeria in all four of the MEPI pillars: Democracy, Economic Growth, Education and Women’s Empowerment. Given our positive experience and the interest Algerians have expressed in partnering with us, we have indeed expanded our work in several areas. To give but a few examples, this summer, MEPI launched an innovative media program, which helps local print outlets to improve journalism standards, profitability, independence, and objectivity in their operations. We fund a program which works with the Parliament of Algeria on drafting legislation, media outreach, constituent relations, budget analysis, and parliamentary research. Under the Partnership School Program, a U.S. NGO is working with the Ministry of Education on English language training, and incorporating IT in the classroom. 6- The other objective of your visit to Algiers was also to assess and identify local needs, and also hurdles preventing the implementation of some of MEPI programs in Algeria. Are there really constraints in this regard ? The overall assessment of our trip in February was that MEPI programs have been successful in Algeria and that there exist numerous opportunities to both continue work on existing programs and to develop new programs with new Algerian partners in order to advance reform in Algeria. The constraints we’ve faced so far have been largely administrative and bureaucratic in nature. We understand that a program like MEPI is something new. That’s why we are fully transparent about both our objectives and our activities. Given that approach and the strong bilateral relationship between Algeria and the United States, we do not expect any major constraints in Algeria. 7- Since the lauch of MEPI in 2002, Algeria has mainly benefited from two programs aiming at the training of journalists and parliamentarians. What were the budgets allocated to these two programs ? The two programs you mention are perfect examples of how MEPI builds on its experience to develop new programs that can better advance reform. The journalist training was part of a program to enhance the professional skills of reporters from across the Arab World. While individual journalists benefited from the training, we judged that what the Algerian print media needed to improve its quality and independence was a more comprehensive approach. Therefore, we developed just for Algeria the project launched this summer that I mentioned above, which touches not only on journalism, but on management, editing and everything else that makes for a successful newspaper. Likewise, based on the active and positive participation by Members of the Algerian Parliament in a regional program, we developed a program exclusively for the Algerian Parliament to provide technical assistance on a range of issues which they identified as important to their work. 8- Can we know the nature and the financial amount of other initiatives targeting Algeria? MEPI is designed to be flexible and to respond to reform opportunities as they arise. Our experience in Algeria has been positive and we see considerable opportunity to work with the large number of talented Algerians committed to advancing reform in their country. This is reflected in our budget. Whereas in the past three years together, MEPI spent just over $9 million in support of reform in Algeria, this year alone, we will commit approximately $4.3 million. We certainly hope that this fruitful partnership will continue to flourish.
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