| | Middle East Partnership Initiative
The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is the Bush Administration's response to calls for change in the Middle East. This Presidential initiative, created in 2002 and funded with bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress, has brought the resources, experience, and determination of the United States to bear in an effort to bolster the reform movement in the Middle East.
Under the direction of a newly created office in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State--and in coordination with partners in the region--MEPI is funding programs that help put in place the building blocks for democratic change. MEPI has set in motion more than 350 programs in 15 countries of the Middle East and in the Palestinian territories. Our partners include local and international non-governmental organizations, businesses, universities, international institutions, and in some cases, the governments of the region. To date, the U.S. Congress has committed almost $300 million to MEPI over four fiscal years. MEPI's funding is in addition to the bilateral economic assistance the United States provides annually to the Middle East.
MEPI is structured in four reform areas: political, economic, education, and women's empowerment. Read more about the goals for these pillars and examples of success stories. | | | Highlights | |
Secretary Plans to Travel to Second Forum for the Future
Secretary Rice and other senior officials from State will travel to Bahrain to attend the second Forum for the Future taking place on November 11-12, 2005. The Forum is a cooperative effort by the countries of the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region, the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations, and other partners who seek to promote and develop political, economic, and social reform in the region.
Revised Standing Program Announcement
Newly listed announcement and note new closing date of December 15, 2005. To apply online for MEPI Standing Program Announcement please visit http://www.grants.gov/.
Fact Sheet
U.S. support for freedom and democracy in the Middle East. [html and pdf]
Specialized Leadership and Entrepreneurial Training for Middle Eastern Business Women
A number of America's leading business women offered management and leadership skills training to 200 Middle Eastern women during a MEPI-funded Business Women's Summit in Tunis May 24-26, 2005. (HTML/text and PDF available). Under Secretary Paula Dobriansky's keynote address at summit.
A new survey assesses women's freedom in the Middle East and North Africa. A grant from MEPI enabled Freedom House to author a first ever comparative assessment on the status of women's rights throughout this important region. [Full text press release and survey results at www.freedomhouse.org/research/menasurvey]
First Meeting of Education Ministers from the G8 and Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) Thirty countries as well as representatives from civil society and the private sector throughout the region participated in the first education ministerial hosted by the Government of Jordan at the Dead Sea, from May 22-23, 2005. |
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