Transcript: Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board Meeting August 24, 2023

Megan Doherty: Good morning. Hello, everyone. It is my great honor to welcome you to this, the third public meeting of the Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board. Before we get started, I just want to note we have a closed caption option, and we will also be posting the transcript and the recording of this meeting on the USAID website.

It has been such an honor to see the progress that MEPPA has made since this Board first met just over a year ago. In the last year, we have seen the launch and the startup of so many exciting new efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together. And beyond just bringing people together, we're starting to see change. Change in how people view each other, changing people's willingness to take a chance on the other. We're also starting to see real benefits for Israeli and Palestinian families and communities that are part of this program on issues that matter - access to water, health care, increased trade and opportunity.

This is not easy work, especially right now. So, as we enter this - this next phase of MEPPA, the resonant being for me is gratitude. Gratitude to the wonderful members of our Advisory Board. You have all given so much time and energy and good advice. Gratitude to members of the public that are tuning in today, our friends on the hill, this brave, audacious community of advocates and activists who care so much about this work. And gratitude for the USAID team who have worked so hard to translate your feedback, your constructive criticism, your advice into reality on the ground.

The most important gratitude from my perspective is to the valiant and essential community of peace builders who are working so hard right now to spread light amidst darkness. You are the reason that we do this work. You are the best part of this work, and we remain committed to listening to you, and learning from you as we continue this MEPPA journey together.

So now, as we formally start our Advisory Board meeting, it is my great pleasure to introduce one of my favorite people, my friend and mentor, USAID’s deputy Administrator, Isobel Coleman. Isobel is already known to many of you, but she has also been a strong supporter of MEPPA from the ground up. Isobel over to you.

Isobel Coleman: Thank you so much, Megan, for that introduction, and also thank you for your ongoing leadership of MEPPA and of USAID’s work across the Middle East and North Africa. And, what those of you might not be able to know on the screen, is that Megan is about to give birth any minute now. I did ask her to make sure she was here at this meeting, and thank you, Megan, for doing that, and best of luck with that. And, thank you also to all of our Board members here with us today, and to everyone tuned in virtually for your work to foster peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.

The Partnership for Peace Fund represents a bold and concrete commitment - the largest ever from a single country - to peace building in the region, and while prospects for long-term peace seem to only grow more distant, this community is an important reminder that there is strong and broad-based support to bridging differences in spite of political challenges. It serves as a signal to other donors, governments, and philanthropists alike, that the United States is committed to the cause of peace. And that no matter the status of diplomatic efforts, through MEPPA we are building momentum one relationship at a time - that this partnership is more than a signal or a policy statement.

As Megan mentioned, you'll hear about some of the progress we're making to build acceptance and to generate opportunity in communities that have never known peace, only fear of the other, which brings insecurity and violence. So, I want to tell you about an eight- old boy named Ali from Ramallah in the West Bank. He's an energetic and boisterous kid, who was born with Cerebral Palsy. Ali dreams of being able to do the same thing kids his age are able to do such as to move independently and to swim in the sea. And, through our MEPPA program Making Peace, Ali and his father, Mohammed, were connected with Israeli and Palestinian engineers and designers. When Ali traveled to Tel Aviv to meet them, he didn't imagine that his day would end with swimming in the ocean using an adaptive surfboard they built for children like him. It was Ali’s first time in the open water.

One dream came true. Less than a month later, Ali and his father returned to Tel Aviv for another peacemaking - Making Peace activity - this time with a team  Palestinian and Israeli engineers, designers, paramedical professionals, and mentors who partnered to solve Ali’s other challenge - to be more independently mobile. In just two days, this dedicated team designed a model for a mechanical device that would eventually help Ali operate his wheelchair independently. Initially, Ali and his father were understandably hesitant and skeptical about whether a solution could be found, but they came with the hope that perhaps this program, tailored to address Ali’s specific needs, would help him.

During the process, trust between the Israeli and Palestinian developers, and Ali and his father, grew so much that, despite the difficulty of getting from the West Bank to Tel Aviv, especially for a disabled child, they agreed to come multiple times and dedicate themselves to helping Ali make progress.

Not only was Ali able to improve his mobility, but the endeavor to help one child in need also strengthened relations between the team of developers who work together to improve the lives of the disabled and elderly.

This is the MEPPA model at work - a commitment to bring people together around a shared interest, solving problems that hinder opportunity and human flourishing and growing together. All those who believe in peace know this is the key. These connections put a face and a name to what was once thought of as the ‘other.’  As peace builders and development professional - professionals working in precarious situations, many of you, I’m sure, are often asked some version of the same question: Does the news of violence in Jenin, or protests in Tel Aviv make your work harder? Yes, there is much to make us cautious in our optimism.

There are those in the community and region who question the viability of this work, and others who see any engagement at all as betrayal. But, there are many, many more who wholeheartedly embrace the challenges and absorb the chaos and violence of the present moment as motivation to continue building the foundation for peace. MEPPA  exists for those individuals, and we run no risk of running out of optimists ready to do the hard work. Each success, like Ali's, demonstrates that grassroots peacebuilding is the best way for local communities to demand peace and progress.

We have to honor this willingness of peace builders to face danger, frustration, and scorn by doing our part to ensure that MEPPA is implemented in a wise and efficient manner. That's why I'm so grateful to friends old and new on the Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board who have dedicated their time and talents to refining and overseeing MEPPA’s work.

I'm also so glad to have Scott Nathan here today to talk about how the DFC is tackling this important work. Thank you, especially, to our chair, George Salem, who has dedicated himself completely to this work.

Please know that this work is one of the Agency's highest priorities, and a matter of personal importance and interest for myself and Administrator Power. Thank you all again for joining us, for lobbying to make this fund and this work possible, and for your vision and commitment to peace. Thank you.

Megan Doherty: Thank you so much, Deputy Administrator Coleman. With that, I will turn it to our amazing Board Chair, George Salem. 

George Salem: Thank you. Thank you, Megan, and thank you, Deputy Administrator Coleman. I look forward to sharing my own reflections and recommendations during the open discussion later in this meeting, but for now I'd like to emphasize what both Megan and Isobel had to say. It could not have been more clear from our time in the region, and from my own travel there, that this is a worrying time for many friends and colleagues living in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

No one feels able to predict the future, and yet everyone acknowledges that life must go on. And, as people of the region seek sources for hope, MEPPA partners and peace builders are doing their part to provide it. From nurses and doctors on both sides working together, to young people developing skills to enter the workforce, to business leaders embracing new connections, to young people learning to be high-tech, uh, workers and coders - MEPPA is building relationships and improving lives, just as it was meant to do.

As Megan mentioned, we will begin with some remarks from USAID Mission Director Amy Tohill-Stull - highlights in the work of MEPPA so far and a brief overview of our partnership with the Development Finance Corporation.  We will then hear from DFC CEO Scott Nathan about the progress the Agency is making under MEPPA, and how DFC’s emphasis on financial instruments gives them a unique set of tools to bring to bear on the challenge of peacebuilding. After this presentation, he will take questions and answers from the Board.

Next, we will discuss the Board’s reactions to the Board trip this Spring and the information you received about MEPPA programming, and we'll take your recommendations and takeaways from this year's past programming which many of you are able to see firsthand on the Board trip in March.
And, finally, we will wrap up the conversation, and I will summarize the main points we have all shared. As a reminder, all of your recommendations go to the USAID leadership with summaries serving to identify themes of areas of agreement and disagreement.

With that, I will turn to Amy, uh, to share some impact that MEPPA programs are having right now. Welcome Amy.

Amy Tohill-Stull: Thank you. Um, and it's wonderful to see the entire Board again, albeit virtually. I want to just take a moment at the top and also extend my thanks to each of you for your constant guidance and your support, and for taking the time to offer your feedback on how the Mission can further improve the overall implementation of MEPPA. 

There's a lot of good news to share, and as Megan mentioned at the top, we've reserved a good portion of our November Board meeting to go into details of what we have accomplished to date, how we react to the Board Member recommendations, and how our work is expanding and adapting. 

Today, I want to highlight two things. I want to tell you about our new support to smaller, local organizations, and how we're augmenting the MEPPA team at the Mission. Then, lastly, I also want to share a few topline results from our various programs.

From day one, you have given us insightful feedback, and you've helped to guide and shape MEPPA. One critical area that you identified is to make sure that we're reaching smaller and more local organizations, and ensuring that those who are receiving MEPPA funding have the tools that they need to manage USAID awards. To that end, we set aside money in this year's solicitation specifically to fund small grants of between $100,000 and $500,000.  As we prioritize smaller organizations that may not have it working with USAID, we're also committed to providing them with additional time and attention to ensure that they not only can meet our standards, but also grow in their ability to implement peace building projects after USAID funding ends. To provide this support, we're helping to assess capacity-building needs and are providing tailored training, technical assistance, and advice to all MEPPA partners, including in the areas of financial management and monitoring and evaluation. We can already see that these efforts are paying off, and we've heard from all of our partners just how valuable this individualized support is to them.

We're also expanding the team. We're wrapping up the hiring process for our MEPPA Coordinator which I'm personally very excited about. The MEPPA Coordinator will provide overall strategic direction, oversee internal coordination, build the budding community of practice, ensure our programs are having a transformative impact, and lead coordination with other donors. We've also just onboarded new Foreign Service Officers in the Mission who will play a major role in guiding and implementing MEPPA programs, and we're planning to increase our communications team so that we can better explain the exciting results that we're seeing on the ground and more successfully spread a positive message of peace as broadly as we can.

I'd like to take a moment to also speak about results. We heard the anecdote from Deputy Administrator Coleman about Reut, and I can tell you that there are similar stories for all of our MEPPA  programs. I'm proud to say that the progress, though, is beyond just anecdotal. To date, we've reached 1,500 participants through MEPPA programs - bridging divides, improving access to quality health care, building prosthetics for the elderly and disabled providing seed funding for women entrepreneurs, training the next generation of tech experts, and so much more. And, all of this has been accomplished in approximately one year of programming.

While these projects continue to bring people together, we will implement new ideas and approaches. Our second year of applicants include some truly impressive concepts, and we're moving full steam ahead in our process that we call co-creation where we sit with each potential awardee and work with them hand-in-hand to refine their ideas. This new slate of awards we finalized prior to the end of this fiscal year, and we look forward to sharing more of the specifics with you very, very soon.

In just a moment, Scott Nathan, from the Development Finance Corporation, will talk about his agency’s work under MEPPA. I'd like to take this chance to highlight the strength of USAID’s collaboration with DFC, and particularly their great work to further our mutual interest as we look to build economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. Through our Building Regional Economic Bridges program, or BREB, USAID is engaging businesses of all sizes in a variety of opportunities to create jobs, increase trade, introduce innovations, and generally raise the level of engagement between Israeli and Palestinian businesses. Part of BREB’s mission is to build the capacity of Palestinian firms so that they're ready to meet DFC’s rigorous standards for financing. As of today, BREBt has launched twenty agreements, and is in the final stages of initialing an additional twenty seven agreements.

In support of DFC’s investment pipeline, the BREB team also has successfully delivered five comprehensive company profiles for projects valued at over ninety million dollars, with several more currently in progress.

It's been a true honor to make USAID efforts in the field as all of this work has taken root, and I look forward to coming near - and seeing new programs take off the ground, and I also look forward to the Mission taking on new leadership roles, particularly to build and strengthen the MEPPA community of practice, be better informed, and leverage other peacebuilding initiatives.

At this moment in time, I also want to take a moment to share with you a video that the team put together related to Project Rozana and the tremendous work that they're doing. This is one of our MEPPA partners from the first year of implementation, and I hope you enjoy the video. It's one of many that we'll be producing and publicizing in the coming days and months. With that, I think Dan and Eibhilin will help us.

[Video plays with embedded captions.]

Amy Tohill-Stull: Well, thank you again to the Board for your continuous support, and also to our other MEPPA supporters and stakeholders joining us on the call today. I look forward to the discussion that will ensue following DFC’s presentation, and to hearing the feedback that you have to share with us today. And with that, George, back over to you.

George Salem: Thank you, Amy, and Scott, it's a great pleasure to welcome you to today's meeting. As you have all heard, Scott Nathan is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Development Finance Corporation.  He has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, he served as a senior advisor to the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, after having worked on the Biden-Harris presidential transition teams - appointment teams. Prior to public service, he worked in investments with a focus on global markets.

I had the pleasure of accompanying Scott for his trip to Israel and the West Bank a few months ago. He and his DFC team are genuine partners in our role goal for MEPPA to be a catalyst for peace and have a meaningful impact on lives. And, with that, Scott, I will turn it over to you to tell us more about the DFC’s work in the private sector, and to promote growth and peace, and how MEPPA fits into the bigger picture.
Scott -

Scott Nathan: Well, thank you very much, George. It's a real pleasure to be here, but I first want to say thank you for not only the introduction, but most importantly, for your friendship and your leadership. It's great to be with you today. And, thanks to all of you on the Board for your commitment to this important program. I also want to acknowledge our partners at USAID. Thanks to Isobel and Megan for the work we do together, for their partnership. MEPPA is a priority for DFC, and one of the many instances where DFC is proud to work hand-in-hand with USAID. Hand-in-hand - I think I'm riffing off of the symbol that's on each member of the USAID’s  business card.

So, again, it's a pleasure to be able to address all of you and I look forward to your questions, but I just have a few remarks at the top. At the Development Finance Corporation, our work is guided by the belief that unleashing the power of the private sector, of private capital, is critical to the development of a more stable, prosperous global economy. It works to help stabilize societies around the world. We're active in well over a hundred countries with financing transactions. That same belief guides DFC’s work with MEPPA and our approach to the Palestinian private sector.

Around the world, DFC provides support in critical sectors where there are enduring needs. Financing private companies and projects to promote food security, to expand digital connectivity, transportation connectivity, and promote reliable access to energy. Importantly, we also provide financing to intermediaries who then provide capital to small and medium enterprises - the engine of growth in most economies around the world. These are sectors of interest and opportunity that DFC is exploring in the Palestinian market as well.

I know that many of you are eager to see progress from DFC on its implementation of MEPPA. I am, too, and I believe we have made progress. Still, there's so much more we can do. After a period where DFC and our predecessor agency were out of the market, DFC has been able to build a deal pipeline in just a couple of years. DFC had to generate awareness about what we do, educate potential clients on DFC products and the application process, conduct due diligence, and navigate the relevant U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian laws around investment in this area all before any bankable transactions could be committed. 

In this context, USAID support has been absolutely critical, and I'm confident that we will have additional news for you about potential deals and deals that we're able to get across the finish line before the end of this year. USAID’s BREB - the Building Regional Economic Bridges that Megan talked about - that program is also helping us develop and incubate project leads and support the potential for projects to be DFC ready in the medium term. DFC is reviewing various projects that we hope to announce in the coming months with additional leads undergoing early stage review.

George mentioned this - I traveled to Israel and the West Bank in March. It was great to have George along with us. We brought a great cross-section of the DFC team. We met with existing partners and we were able to establish a number of promising relationships. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a roundtable for us with the Israeli private sector. We discussed ways that DFC could finance their projects in developing countries, particularly countries related to the Abraham Accords, where we're eligible to work. At a dinner hosted by, now, unfortunately, Former Ambassador Tom Nides, we engaged with Israeli and Palestinian business leaders. In the West Bank, we spent time with potential partners and sectors ranging from manufacturing and agribusiness to transportation and infrastructure. And I also had the opportunity to meet some of our existing partners, such as the Middle East Investment Initiative - MEII. We're really pleased with the progress they have made in utilizing our loan guarantee to support small and medium enterprises.

Loan guarantee facilities with MEII have proven successful in supporting thousands of local Palestinian businesses since their inception in 2006. And through our current loan guarantee facility alone -  just this one facility that we have active today - MEII has processed more than 1,600 loans across nine private commercial lenders in the West Bank through the end of last year. A variety of agribusiness, manufacturing, and ICT companies, as well as specific project sponsors, have expressed interest in DFC financing. DFC has also seen interest in all the products we offer: debt, loan guarantees, political risk insurance, equity investing, and technical assistance grants.

We consider and prioritize potential projects in the spirit of the MEPPA Act, and in a manner consistent with DFC’s investment principles. The investments that we're considering will allow DFC to make a positive impact on Palestinian livelihoods, help modernize the market, and build skills and experience that will benefit the Palestinian economy.

This work requires patience and commitment, which each of you have demonstrated in your work with MEPPA, to build a brighter future for the region. If there are any opportunities that you believe DFC should explore, please let us know. You’re critical advocates for this important work, and we appreciate any deal leads that will help us meet our mandate, further  MEPPA’s mission, and foster the prospects for peace and prosperity in the region.

Thank you, all, very much. I look forward to your questions, and thanks, again, for having me here as part of your Board meeting.

George Salem: Now that I’m unmuted, I want to thank you officially, Scott, for that presentation. We will now open the floor for any questions from Board members who may wish to ask the Chairman of DFC anything about his work on MEPPA and that of the DFC. Please indicate by either physically raising your hand or pressing the hand function. Rob Wexler has his hand up.

Robert Wexler: Thank you very much, and thank you, Mr. Nathan, for your presentation. 

We're obviously all aware of the rules that govern the West Bank in terms of Palestinian contiguity. Much of that will require comprehensive negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to impact in a significant way. But you mentioned transportation, and one of the ways that could significantly improve conditions for Palestinians and ways in which the Israeli Government seems to be open to significant advancements is creating systems of transportation contiguity that do not require comprehensive political agreements, necessarily, to implement. I'm wondering if you might be able to share with us any specifics in terms of DFC objectives in terms of transportation which you mentioned in your statement.

Scott Nathan: So, I mean, transportation is one of the sectors we focus on globally. It's obviously critical for economic development for all the reasons you alluded to. The challenge that we have is because our statutory mandate is to support the private sector, these have to be projects that are given a concession that become a commercial deal to analyze.  We don't support - we don't give funds to governments. We don't fund State sectors - State owned enterprises. We're about generating activity in the private sector.  And, I mean, I would turn it back to you at the risk of being annoying. But what do you think the prospects are for that in this situation - for private projects to have concessions in the transportation sector?

Robert Wexler: It's not annoying at all. I think the Palestinian private sector is mature enough, at this point, to understand the limitations both of the American government and the reality in terms of what is available for Palestinian institutions, whether it be the PA or others. And I think you will find ready partners in the Palestinian private sector who are willing and able to create the kind of transportation contiguity that would dramatically change things on the ground in the context of using the private sector.

You also mentioned the Abraham Accords. It seems to me that, just politically and economically, one way to effectuate transportation contiguity would be to work in partnership with those Arab communities who have, in fact, made agreements with Israel to assist with the financing.  That doesn't need to be a highway system, a bonded - or a toll road that goes all the way from the north to the south, right away. It could just be two population centers of Palestinians that we start with on a toll basis where the private sector takes the lead, just as an example. There are - the point is, it's not for me to identify what Palestinians need. Private sector leaders in the Palestinian community are way ahead of us, and I would just highly encourage DFC to place a particular focus on transportation contiguity.

Scott Nathan: Well, I really appreciate that. You know, I'm meeting with Ambassador Shapiro, who I know has been - regional integration is one of the issues that he's been charged with working on, and I'll make sure to talk to him about this. See if that's also a potential source of deal leads. I think, at the small business level, I mean, I mentioned the 1,600 loans that we've been associated with through support for MEII, and I'm sure that within that are some very small businesses that are doing transportation, but your point on the infrastructure side is really well taken. So, thank you.

George Salem: Thanks, Scott, and thanks for the question, Robert.

I just want to say, because I have previously co-chaired MEII with Martin Indyk, that program has created over 40,000 good-paying jobs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It's a great success for DFC. Also, $500 million has been lent, and we pay with a less than one percent default rate and a zero percent default rate among women borrowers. So, it's a real success.

Rabbi Cohen - you have your hand up.

Michael M. Cohen: Thank you, George, and thank you, Scott, for the presentation. Three short informational questions. Off the projects that have been funded so far, are any of them addressing the environment and climate change mitigation? Any focused on women? And, of the $50 million of the MEPPA annual budget, how much of that goes to the DFC Initiative for Peace?

Scott Nathan: Thanks for the questions. So, through our onlending activity - and this is true globally - but it provides us an opportunity to work with the financial institutions to target businesses that are in high priority sectors - sectors that are important from a policy perspective. 

You named the two primary areas that are an overlay through all our activities everywhere. Economic empowerment of women because of the development potential of women. I mean, George also mentioned they're a better credit risk than men, but they also, just documented through study after study, that the way to achieve development impact is by making sure that women have economic opportunity and that there's inclusion. And then, of course, addressing the climate crisis. 

So, we work with our financial intermediaries on deals - that you will see that we intend to - that I'm hoping we'll get through our process very shortly. We'll have elements of emphasis for small and medium enterprises that are working on climate and ones that are owned or led by women. But we can only deal with the reality of the situation on the ground, and, in one of the negotiations I'm aware of that we had about this onlending activity, the counterparty for us was very concerned about just how many businesses there really were that were women-owned or led. So, we push. They push back a little bit, but I think we came to a good agreement, and I look forward to being able to talk more about that when it's announced.

You had a third question, and I forget what it was and apologize.

Michael M. Cohen: Yeah, of the 50 million  allocated for MEPPA every year -

Scott Nathan: Oh, right!

So, you know, the way that DFC works is depending on the nature of the loan or the financing transaction - if it's equity, if it's a technical assistance grant.
We don't - if we do a $50 million loan, potentially that doesn't consume any appropriation at all because under federal credit reform, we have to engage in what's called a subsidy transaction, and we're using the full faith and credit of the United States. Depending on how that subsidy calculation comes out, it could essentially use no appropriations. 

So, there's not really a direct connection - a strongly correlated connection - between how much money we consume and how much economic activity we generate. If we make an equity investment, that will use dollar-for-dollar appropriation.  The bottom line is, we haven't used very much of it yet. We hope to increase our activity. You know, we were essentially in a position where we had to rebuild the effort, the set of contacts in the West Bank. But as our level of activity increases, I expect to be using more of that subsidy, more of the appropriation. But we're far away from using the full 50 million.

George Salem: Thank you. Scott. Heather Johnston, you have a question.

Heather Johnston: Thank you. Thank you, and good to see you, Scott. So, last week, we had a phone call with you and your staff, and they informed me that the agreements between the U.S. and Israel dating back to the Oslo Accords are still in effect and prohibit any U.S. government funds from being invested into the Israeli controlled territories. Given that no MEPPA funding to date has gone into those any of those entities located in those Israeli-controlled territories, I am making the recommendation that Congress may need to clarify the mandate that MEPA operates under to ensure that those evaluating the applications have clear directives that location cannot be used as a factor in the evaluations.

Additionally, the feedback sessions for the applicants that are denied need to be staffed by actual evaluators. So, currently, the feedback sessions that we're hearing about are not staffed by the evaluators, and, therefore, provide no useful feedback for applicants as to why their application was denied;

And I think we need assurances from the U.S. government that funds that are being used to promote peace do not discriminate against one group of people intimately and necessarily - that are involved to eventually resolve this conflict.

And, so, I just want that statement to go on record, and thank you.

Scott Nathan: It's good to see you again. 

George Salem: [overlapping] Thank you, Heather.

Heather Johnston: Yes.

Scott Nathan: What’s that? Well, anyway, it was good to see you again, Heather.

Heather Johnston: You too.

Scott Nathan: Thanks for the comments and I appreciate the conversation we had a week or two ago. I guess, just for everyone else's benefit, to share some of what we talked about in that conversation. You know, we are very eager to work with Israeli companies to support the Palestinian economy. We can't work in Israel because we're prohibited by statute from working in high-income countries. But in line with MEPPA’s mandate, we're looking for bankable transactions that provide benefit to the Palestinian private sector and lay the groundwork for peace and prosperity.

As we discussed, we're an agency focused on doing deals with businesses - private sector. We don't make foreign policy. We defer to the State Department other elements of the Administration on that. And, you know, what matters to us is deal by deal - every transaction. That's where we see where we make a difference. If people don't apply, it's hard for us to evaluate them. I will look into the point you made about the feedback. I hadn't previously heard that, and I'm just hoping that we get a flow of good deals where we can make a difference for people and the economy.

George Salem: With that, we have exhausted our time for Q&A of the DFC CEO Scott Nathan. Again, Scott, thank you for being here today and sharing the information and insights, and we're very appreciative of DFC’s partnership on MEPPA. We look forward to seeing how your work in the region progresses, and the announcements that will be forthcoming in the next couple of months.

We will now begin with the open discussion with our Board members. From hearing your feedback at the end of the Board trip and in our discussions since then, I think this conversation will be most fruitful if we focus on a few key questions.

One - for those of us who traveled in March, what reflections from the trip would you like to share with your fellow Board members and the public?

Two - many of you have spoken about the importance of broadening the circle to ensure that MEPPA programs are reaching those who might not otherwise be inclined to engage with peacebuilding programs. How do we get those who don't want to talk about peace into the tent?  Also, what can we do to fund more local organizations, especially Palestinian ones, to ensure more balance? As a reminder from last year, USAID received 106 applications from 31 U.S.-based organizations, 111 Israeli-based organizations, and 21 Palestinian organizations, as well as three international organizations.

Three - what can we do to energize communities of faith around supporting and participating in awards under MEPPA? How have you seen faith based organizations engage in peace building?

Four - based on your experience as leaders across the private sector and peace building field, what do you see as opportunities for lasting impact beyond our immediate program beneficiaries?

And, five - finally, USAID has endeavored to provide presentations that will be helpful in our discussions, such as the one today from our partners in MEPPA programs and project implementation at DFC. The team has access to a broad range of experts, and so they are keenly interested in hearing what kinds of presentations would be most useful to the Board for future meetings.

Before we commence our discussion, I want to emphasize that this discussion is about recommendations for USAID programming going forward. Given procurement concerns, it is not appropriate for us to discuss any individuals, potential partners, or our current partners in this open meeting.

With that, let's turn to the Board for their reflections, so we can go around. And, as usual, we will turn first to our founder, Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

Nita Lowey: Thank you very much. Can you hear me? Great. 

Well, it’s been a delight for me to be listening to all your presentations and all the comments, and I am so pleased to hear about the progress under MEPPA so far. I was sorry to have been unable to attend the inaugural Board trip to the region, but from the accounts I heard when catching up on it, I feel satisfied that the intention of the MEPPA legislation is being carried out through the awards USAID has made so far. I am also encouraged by the presentation by the DFC. Our intention in passing MEPPA was to have USAID and DFC engage in this work together as partners, and it is good to see that the partnership is robust and that DFC is increasing their commitment to MEPPA and to the region.

I have also been very glad to hear the thoughtful comments from other Board members since this Board was first established. The kinds of questions you have raised about how to engage new communities, how to ensure balance in our programming, and how to genuinely promote peace are the right ones to be asking, and the experience represented on this Board makes you all a wonderful resource for USAID as it confronts these issues. And, again, it was a pleasure for me to be listening today. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of all those who presented, and I look forward to continuing to work with you. And I hope I will be able to attend the next trip. I heard it was pretty great. Thank you very, very much.

George Salem: Thank you, Congressman Lowey. We so much appreciate your inspiration which led to the passage of this legislation.

And, with that, let me turn to the Board members to see who would like to raise comments or questions.

Hiba, I see you’re off of mute. Would you like to speak?

Hiba Husseini: Yeah, thank you, George. Sure. Thank you, Megan, and thank you, MEPPA team. And I thought that also the presentation by Mr. Nathan was excellent, although I had a couple of questions for him, but the time ran out. We'll probably do it another time.

In terms of initial impressions, and very briefly, of course, I thought the rounds that I attended in March were very impressive, and I think we are making impact. USAID and MEPPA are making impact slowly but surely. And the times are very difficult, and we are in a crisis mode right now, but we're still forging forward in peace building, which is very, very important. 

So, in terms of - and I’m getting a lot of positive feedback.I mean, initially, it was a lot of skepticism. Oh, what's USAID going to do? What's MEPPA going to do? Now it's what projects can we present? What is the criteria for selection?  And so there is an interest, and there is a growing understanding that USAID is serious and is coming in to provide support and and promote peace building. So, this is a different message several months into the implementation of the programs. And, so, the progress is certainly there, and I think, slowly, we're beginning to achieve the purposes of the legislation. So, this is very important.
In terms of programs or activities, I think we should continue working on empowering women–definitely.

I think we also should - I mean, I've been attending several meetings that include Palestinian and Israeli women, and there is a growing need and a growing desire, I should say, to have joint projects, joint activities.  A group of Israeli women came to Ramallah a few weeks ago, and I was the lead speaker, and the first thing they asked me was, ‘How can we, in Israel, keep resilient and maintain hope against all the current crises in Israel? We want to learn from you, Palestinians, how you maintain your hope and your resilience.’ So, I think, the more activities, joint activities we have, the more realization that we can really coexist and help each other and forge efforts for peace building.

Forgive me. My voice is a bit low because I have a very bad cold.

So, women empowerment is very important to continue - youth empowerment. And I'd like to propose maybe thinking of working - this is a bit challenging - but to work inside the refugee camps. I know this would not necessarily be Israeli-Palestinian people-to-people, but I think we need some programs to work with youth inside camps. Special programs, special educational programs to get youth inside the camps to see a whole different perspective on the future, and to give them hope. 

I think, in terms of joint projects, food security is very important, and I'd like to propose that we focus on agriculture and agribusiness, especially organic farming. There’s a need for organic farming in terms of fisheries, sheep, chicken, and so forth.  So, I think that's an area where we could benefit from working between the Israeli and Palestinian agribusinesses and in science projects.  Also, I think, if we can think of mutual joint projects in the music area, the arts area, the sports area, and move from the traditional political - pure political projects.

If we can think, also, of sustainable tourism in the territories. Joint projects in sustainable tourism, such as bike rides and biking  routes, and so forth, in the Jordan Valley. And create, also, forged partnerships with our Jordanian neighbors in terms of sustainable tourism and agribusiness as well. 

And, last, I would propose to continue enlarging the support for the municipalities - potentially creating twinning arrangements between Palestinian municipalities and Israeli municipalities. You know, starting slowly with not necessarily Ramallah and Tel Aviv, but maybe Ramallah and an Arab municipality - Arab-Israeli municipality to work together on improving the services and improving the delivery of services to the constituencies of these municipalities. 
That's, in summary, my recommendations. Thank you.

George Salem: Thank you very much, Hiba, for the comprehensive list and we’ve taken it all down.

I have four other Board members, so far, with their hands raised, and we have about fifteen minutes left for this discussion. So, if I could, I'd like to call on Farah first then Nickolay then Heather then Rabbi Cohen. 

Farah Bdour, please.

Farah Bdour: Thank you, George. And thank you, Megan and Amy, for your hard work. 

There is so much to say about our visit earlier this year, but let me start by saying that I believe that we are witnessing a rare moment in the history of this conflict, where the power of gravity has temporarily shifted from the dominant, loud minority towards the moderate majority. This is a moment when we are seeing the awakening of the Israeli center, who is courageously fighting for democracy, and began to make the connection with the occupation in a way that they hadn’t before.

So, I believe that there is a need to nurture this moment, and I believe that MEPPA is well positioned to do that - to prevent a likely regression, and somehow provide this moment with immunity. In the first year of MEPPA, the priority, rightly so, was given to support the dialogue and building trust between Israeli and Palestinians. However, as we saw on our trip, dialogue in itself is not enough. When we visited an organization that focuses on environment, a number of Palestinian participants couldn’t join the meeting as they were not given permits. When we talk to an organization that focuses on entrepreneurship, they talked about obstacles to access: 4G network. When we talked to businesspeople, they shared a number of challenges facing the Palestinian trade and the illusion of creating a healthy interdependence between the two economies. And the list goes on and on. So, the bottom line is that we need to transform dialogue into action, and address the structural barriers that prevent prepping the ground and enabling the environment to work across the ‘67 line. 

I recommend that during the second year of MEPPA that the support goes to projects that actually have a vision and plan to benefit from this rare moment. Projects that integrate advocacy and civic education as part of its programming to change policies and regulations that perpetuate these barriers in the fields that they are working.  And there is also the issue of prioritizing projects that are working on policy change and critical geographies like Area C and East Jerusalem given their importance. And just to be clear, I'm not naive about the risk that entails having in mind that civil society organizations are already under attack, and they are more likely to face political violence in the future. But reflecting on the first year of MEPPA, maybe we should further explore resources that the USAID has to help civil society organizations mitigate risks as they work to change policies. 

The other reflection, very quickly, from our trip is the power of storytelling in shaping the perception of people, and the construction of enabling narratives that help civil society organizations in Israel, in the West Bank, to face the social stigma of people-to-people work and to face accusations of being collaborators and the traitors.  Unfortunately, beautiful human stories that we have shared during the trip are being shadowed by extremist narratives on both sides, and we need to construct enabling narratives that resonate both locally and culturally. And here I recommend that MEPPA supports projects that include storytelling in its community engagement strategies. 

Finally, as I have maybe less than one minute, I believe that Jordan consists a natural organic supporter for Palestinians and Israelis, and there is a big potential to create synergies and building cooperation in a number of fields like religious tourism, land and the transport corridors, water and food security, environment, high tech, peace education, and youth empowerment. And here I recommend that Board members visit to Amman - to Jordan to explore such potential and explore how the immediate neighbor and civil society in Jordan can help in nurturing this moment. 

I know I'm out of time, but I have to thank the USAID team. You know, Amy, Jessica, Matt, Miley, Eibhilin, Rachel, Nidal, Nadia, and all the field coordinators.
I conclude, and over to you, George.

George Salem: Thank you - thank you so much, Farah.

Nickolay, you’re up.

Nickolay Mladenov: Thank you, Chairman, and thank USAID for the trip that you organized for us, for the impressive work that you've done, and also for this meeting.

I want to join others in saying that what we saw on the ground during that trip was extremely good. Some of the projects that we visited were, in fact, very much inspiring in the work that they were doing, and how they were bringing people together across tremendous structural differences that exist between Israel and the West Bank, the way that people live, these opportunities that they have. I hope that we will continue to have this impact and broaden it as much as possible. 

So, if I have one first recommendation, I would say we need to be much more aggressive, quote unquote, in promoting MEPPA than we currently - than we have been, because we already have a track record of projects that have been supported that we can showcase, and we need to really reach out as much as possible to everyone, particularly on the Palestinian side, to show them that MEPPA is an instrument that needs to be used to improve their lives and to improve the prospects of peace. 

Secondly, I'd like to see more engagement by MEPPA with universities both in Israel and in the West Bank. I think there is an untapped potential there and that is important, also, to address some of the issues that were raised by the previous speakers related to education. It is a longer term investment, but certainly something that is extremely important. 

Thirdly, I'd like to see more projects of the types we saw that relate to skills development among people on the ground, because that is something that is not just practical, but it is something that is more sustainable in the long run and I think is an opportunity for everyone. 

Next, it would be great to see how we can actually engage people from Gaza who live in horrible conditions. In some of these projects, I understand the limitations that we have, but certainly linking up people from Gaza, from Israel, and from the West Bank will be very, very important through different projects. So, maybe that is one area that needs to be explored.

A couple of more very quick points. I want to fully support what Farah just said about Jordan and expand that to actually see if we can find more projects that involve other Arab countries - Abraham Accords countries - Jordan, Egypt in support of Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts. That would also be something that is worthwhile.

And the last point I want to make, I know I will not find many fans when I say it, but we do need to think of projects that actually begin to change the narrative. The narrative of peace needs to be rebuilt, and it needs to be rebuilt both on the Israeli and on the Palestinian side. I'm sick and tired of hearing from everyone how this is a dead end. How the conflict is frozen. How this is the reality with which we need to live in for the future. We need to get some young dynamic brains on both sides of the divide to actually start thinking of the narratives of the future for peace. It's been thirty years this year since the Oslo Accords were signed. We have full generations that have grown up in a very, very different environment than the people who went to those meetings and who did the agreements in Oslo. They need to see their input into discussions about peace. We cannot any longer hang on to the old myths and the old paradigms if we are to engage new generations of people in a discussion of peace. So, that is a whole area I believe we need to sort of start tapping in very gently and very thoughtfully into.

 Thank you again, and hand over to you.

George Salem: Thank you so much, Nickolay. 

Heather Johnson, we have you, and then we have Rabbi Cohen.

Heather Johnston: Okay, thank you. Well, Mr. Chairman, I made my recommendation in the previous section a little out of time. Do I need to repeat that now in order to be included in the formal recommendations?

George Salem: We're in good shape, Heather. We have it. 

Heather Johnston: Okay, great. Thank you. And really appreciate this - the USAID staff and all of the effort towards these meetings. I think they're extremely important. 

I believe that in the future, so much has to do with business, and being able to create a friendly environment - an efficacious environment - where business can thrive without, you know, discriminating against one one group over another. Business is like science. It needs to flow freely. We need to operate that way, and MEPPA needs to, I believe, really, really look at the future and understand, really, business is the common ground for the entire adult sector for those living inside the West Bank. It is the future. It's where we are headed. It's a solution inside of this conflict, and inside of this narrative, as it has been in other locations around the world.

George Salem: Thank you, Heather.

Turning now to Rabbi Cohen for the final comment unless anyone has anything else they would like to add.

Michael.

Michael Cohen: Thank you. I won’t take up too much time and just get to the recommendations and forget reflections. 

We're in a situation now where violence is truly spiraling, and I want to recommend that we fund programs that have a component where the participants are forced to directly deal with the conflict and the issues of the conflict in a safe, constructed, healthy way. But we need programs where they can deal with the camel in the tent, if you will - the conflict, and not just get together and work, but really [unintelligible]. 

I recommend that we continue to implement a robust media and PR plan. More and more Israelis and Palestinians need to know about these programs. Otherwise, this investment is in the wind. I recommend [unintelligible] increase funding for such programs to get us to the $40 a person like we had in Northern Ireland. We're only at $2 now [unintelligible]. I recommend to enlarge the tent, if you will - increase the circle - that we reach out to individuals in our MEPPA funded programs who - all know individuals who are on the fence about whether this makes sense - and thoughtfully invite them for conversations [unintelligible]. And, finally, I recommend a convening of religious leaders who are involved in interfaith work. There are lots of them in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Bring them together, and let's get a plan out of that.

Thank you.

Megan Doherty: Thank you so much, Rabbi Cohen.

Rabbi Buchdahl, over to you.

Rabbi Buchdahl: Thank you. I just want to underscore the last thing that Michael just said. I think that the idea that Nickolay says, and Farah also, that the narratives that we have are deeply - they deeply shape public perception, and the way people act. And I think that as great as all the grantees we saw were, none of them are speaking from a religious perspective. And I think, in this region, we are missing something if we don't understand that the role that, sort of, religious language and the role that people who speak from a place of faith, how much it shapes the way they feel about what it is to reach across the line and be in these partnerships. 

So, I'd like to see, I want to underscore, that I think it's really important that we bring religious leaders or people who speak from a place of faith. It does not help the conflict to feel like if you are religious - Jewish - you are on the right and against peace, which is sort of the perception right now. And I don't actually think that's the reality, but we're not lifting up those voices enough. And I think that probably the alternative on the side of the Muslim and Palestinian community as well.  So, I just want to lodge my recommendation that we seek out more explicitly people who speak from a place of faith and want to build peace from that place as that being their moral religious mandate.

George Salem: Thank you, Angela. 

Harley, you will be the last word before my own.

Megan Doherty: Harley, you’re on mute.

Harley Lippman: Okay, thank you.

Yeah, I'd like to echo what I think I heard, and if I didn't, what I would just say is something that I said, I think, at our last meeting of MEPPA in Jerusalem, which is that, certainly in Israel, the religious community, as we see, exercises today, by virtue of the government, an enormous amount of influence which has never happened before. And given the size of the religious community in Israel and the growth of it, I think that since we’re seeking peace between Israelis and Palestinians and trust, I think that, you know, the religious community needs to be included in the sense of dialogue so that, you know, the conflict when when you look at it, and when you look at the, you know, the casualties among Jews increasingly are the religious. They seem to be targeted. So, that's another compelling reason to include the religious. And I think if we really want to ultimately have some durable peace in that part of the world, I don't know how you do it without including the religious in Israel and the religious and the Palestinian areas as well.

George Salem: Thank you, Harley. And, with that, I'd like to finish the session with my own reflections as well.

From my own perspective, the Board trip was an excellent opportunity for Board members to witness firsthand the excellent projects being implemented by our MEPPA grant recipients. From the training of coders to medical professional collaboration with doctors and nurses on both sides, to the rehabilitation projects and important efforts to create an incubation and innovation accelerator culture in the West Bank working closely with the Israeli high-tech sector, to having training of coders. Our first year of MEPPA programming is clearly achieving our dual roles of creating conditions on the ground for a two-state solution and improving lives.

Although it's been very difficult in these highly charged times to keep politics out of MEPPA programming and implementation, our USAID team that the Mission is working tirelessly to achieve MEPPA’s goals. Although we’ve come far in acceptance of MEPPA in the Palestinian sector, there remains some skepticism about our goals. However, as we enter the second year of MEPPA programming implementation, and the community sees the programs and projects that we are funding, sees the excellent work of BREB and DFC come to fruition with more projects announced that have directed big economic benefits for the Palestinian private sector, that MEPPA’s credibility will continue to be enhanced on all sides.

The Board trip was also a marvelous opportunity for the Board members to get to know one another better, and to actually bond in ways that many of us did not proceed prior to our trip there together. For all of our Board members, please accept my sincere appreciation for your dedication to our work and to MEPPA’s success. Notwithstanding our individual and political perspectives, I know we are all dedicated to the success of MEPPA, and we are each working within our spheres of influence to enhance MEPPA’s success.

And I also want to take this final opportunity, on behalf of myself as Chair and on behalf of the entire PPF Board, to thank the MEPPA team, both here in Washington and at the Mission, for their dedication and hard work this past year in implementation of this very important statutory scheme. This is the largest investment in peace building ever funded by the U.S. Congress here in the region, and hopefully will be heralded in the future as a model for investment of U.S. taxpayer foreign assistance for building bridges and promoting peace.

With that, I'd like to summarize the things that emerged from our Board interventions. I heard the continued empowerment of women and women projects as well as youth, investigation of the possible work inside refugee camps, expansion of agribusiness joint projects in sports, sustainable tourism. A number of commenters mentioned Jordan, and we can look at - Jordan and Egypt - as well as support for municipalities.

Comments about the need to nurture this moment. We've supported dialogue in the first year, and now we need more projects including projects that enhance the access of Palestinians into Israel for projects. We saw that firsthand on our Board trip as well as the 4G network. Projects which break barriers in various fields, including Area C and East Jerusalem. And we need to work to help civil society organizations mitigate risk. And we need to construct enabling narratives - storytelling - and the big potential for work with Jordan.

Outreach to universities both in Israel and the West Bank, and more projects that relate to skills development. I think that the work that BREB is doing and DFC is funding will relate directly to those kinds of projects hopefully.  And there was a recommendation to see how we can better engage the people of Gaza, who are people that have not been included as much as all of us would like in this work. In connection with that, working with the Jordanians and the Egyptians in connection with working in Gaza. The changing in the narrative and working these projects in a way that begins to change the narrative is a consistent theme that we heard throughout the comments of Board members.

In addition, the comment that Heather made earlier about locations and funding of various locations needs to be clarified, and having evaluators in the feedback sessions is also extremely important. Communications is a consistent need that we need to better move. I know the Mission is hiring a Communications Director. We, as a Board, would like to see that implemented, and to see a media plan to publicize the important work that MEPPA programming is accomplishing is extremely important.

And, I think the comments by Angela and others - and Harley - about bringing the religious leaders into this program. The religious community of Israel is very influential, as it is in Palestine. Both Christian and Muslim in Palestine and Jewish in Israel. We need to bring these people together in order to have the kind of discussion and dialogue that helps bring about the accomplishment of the objectives of MEPPA.

I believe that summarizes, pretty much, all of the comments, and I would like to, once again, thank the distinguished group for your thoughtfulness, for the depth and breadth of your comments, and the clear passion you bring to this work. It is an honor to serve on this Board with all of you, and I look forward to reviewing USAID’s progress, as we all do, in implementing our recommendations at our next in-person Board meeting in November.

With that, I will turn it over to Megan to adjourn us. Thank you all very much.

Megan Doherty: Thank you so much, George, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today for this third meeting of the Advisory Board.
We are so grateful to all of our Board members for your constructive inputs, and also just your friendship and guidance through standing up what has been pretty exciting for us at USAID. 

I also want to thank all the advocates and friends supporters who tuned in. We have quite a record turnout to today's meeting, and we hope that all of you will join us again in November.

Thank you, everyone.