BEIRUT: The United States
is committed to a flexible and responsive approach to Lebanese
and regional aid programs, a senior State Department official
said Monday. "There are issues, challenges that are too great
to be faced by one country all by itself," Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Madelyn Spirnak told
reporters gathered at the US Embassy in Awkar.
Among other
responsibilities, Spirnak, who is visiting Beirut for the
first time, oversees the State Department's Middle East
Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Near East Bureau's Press
and Public Diplomacy Office.
MEPI was established in
2002 by then Secretary of State Colin Powell, with the aim of
partnering with civil society and non-governmental
organizations in the region to assist in grassroots
educational, economic and civic reforms. It has devoted more
than $530 million to 550 projects in 17 countries since
2002.
MEPI has had a strong
presence in Lebanon, with 15 to 20 projects in the country.
The regional partnership initiative provides assistance to a
collection of projects including efforts to empower young and
professional women, expand English-language and Lebanese-US
exchange programs and facilitate discussions on civic
responsibility and citizenship.
Spirnak noted that MEPI
programs have shown great success in Lebanon, which she
attributed, in part, to the receptiveness of the Lebanese.
She noted the "positive
change" enabled by certain programs across the region, but
also sought to highlight the "everyday successes that we don't
hear about all the time." She also spoke of the importance of
the flexibility and regional reach provided through MEPI's
civil society partnerships.
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