Congress enacted the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA) in 2020 to help develop the Palestinian economy and advance peaceful co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians to help enable a sustainable two-state solution. MEPPA authorizes the establishment of the People-to-People Partnership for Peace Fund (PPF), the Joint Investment for Peace Initiative (“The Initiative”), and up to $250 million over five years, starting with $50 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021.
Implemented through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the PPF promotes economic cooperation, people-to-people peacebuilding programs; and advances shared community building, peaceful coexistence, dialogue and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. The Initiative is managed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and uses DFC products to catalyze private investment that: promotes Palestinian economic development, increases economic cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis and between Palestinians and Americans, and contributes to greater integration of the Palestinian economy into the international rules-based business system. During the first fiscal year of implementation, USAID programmed $46.5 million of FY 2021 Economic Support Funds (ESF) and the DFC programmed $3.5 million ESF for MEPPA.
USAID and the DFC prepared this report in response to annual Congressional reporting requirements. See Section 8006(d) of the ‘‘Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act of 2020” (Division K, Title VII of Public Law 116-260, December 27, 2020).
