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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Asia Near East Bureau Split into Middle East and Asia
FrontLines: March 2008
The large USAID bureau for Asia and the Near East, which covered the world from Morocco to the Philippines, is being divided into two new bureaus—one for the Middle East and the other to handle Asia, the Agency announced Feb. 27.
In addition, the Europe and Eurasia Bureau will give the
five Central-Asian “Stans”
over to the new Asia Bureau “to strengthen the north/south ties for Afghanistan north through the Central Asian Republics,” said Administrator Henrietta Fore.
At a ceremony in the Reagan Building, Fore cut a symbolic cake with a map of the ANE region into the two new regions.
“The two bureaus will more closely correspond to the Department of State’s regional bureau alignment,” she said.
The Middle East Bureau will have a $2.3 billion budget and be led by George Laudato with Jim Bever as deputy. The Asia Bureau will have a $2.5 billion budget and be led by Mark Ward with Lisa Chiles as deputy.
Senior State Department officials
from the Middle East and Asia attended the cake-cutting
in the ANE office. “I have deep admiration for this Agency … and the people who supported me in my mission,” said former ambassador
to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman, now principal deputy secretary of State for the Near East.
Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia, noted that the new Asia Bureau at USAID now covers
both China and India—“half of humanity”—an enormous challenge.
Glyn Davies, principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, said his bureau and Boucher’s “will have to compete for the affection of the new Asia Bureau” at USAID which includes both South and East Asian countries.
The realignment enables coordination of aid and contacts on a South-North axis, bringing the more developed former Soviet republics of Central Asia into economic relationships with Afghanistan and Pakistan where poverty and insecurity prevail.
Alonzo Fulgham, USAID chief operating officer, said that the new arrangement might speed exports of excess electric power from hydro and gas fields in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan into Afghanistan, Pakistan, and possibly India.
He said that a kilowatt-hour of electricity now costing 32 cents in Afghanistan and Pakistan could plunge to seven cents if power can be imported from the north.
“Strategically it makes sense,” said Fulgham.
Doug Menarchik, assistant administrator for Europe and Eurasia, said the realignment would build upon USAID successes
to date in strengthening sustainable economic growth
in Central Asia and extend the impact of this progress to neighboring
countries at risk. His bureau is unique within the Agency in that it has helped countries
transform from aid recipients into emerging donors. In 2008, USAID is scheduled to transition its missions out of foreign aid in Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia, bringing the Europe and Eurasia Bureau’s total number of “graduate”
countries to 11 in less than two decades.
However, Menarchik said his bureau still faces significant challenges: in the Balkans with Kosovo, Bosnia, and Serbia; in the Caucasus with secessionist movements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia; with Ngorno Karabagh in Armenia/Azerbaijan; and backsliding on democracy in Russia.
“This is a bittersweet day be-cause I have to say goodbye to the Middle East,” said Ward, citing work the bureau had done in Iraq and the Middle East to advance U.S. interests and help Iraqis.
However, Ward said he looked forward to continued service in Pakistan and Afghanistan where he hoped the Agency would “produce
even more results to the people who richly deserve it.”
Laudato said the new Middle East Bureau he leads “will
allow us to focus the complete attention of our Middle East and Iraq groups on the broader Middle East region.”
“This was more difficult to
do when the former bureau
was spread across literally half the world.”
The Middle East bureau will include: Morocco, Egypt, West Bank/Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and the Middle East Regional office.
The Asia Bureau will cover: Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the East Asia Regional office.
Although the ANE bureau will be divided, the staff will continue to hold meetings together to coordinate
activities. The separation was to be effective March 2.
The Central Asian Republics will be managed within a new Office of South and Central Asian Affairs, in the Asia Bureau, headed by Flynn Fuller.
The Asia Bureau and the Middle East Bureau will share services
from the former ANE offices and the E&E Bureau will continue to provide interim support to the Central Asian Republics.
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