Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog

 

Posts Tagged: aid

 

Seeing Our Pakistan Report through Other Eyes

June 9, 2011

Posted by in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: , , , , ,

Wren Elhai

In the week since our study group released its report on U.S. development programs in Pakistan, I’ve been fascinated with the range of opinions on what our most important message was.

Two of our recommendations have gotten most of the attention. The first is our emphasis on non-aid tools of development policy. This is the idea that, as Reuters put it, “trade might succeed where aid has not in developing a vibrant economy and stable partner.” I think we made the strongest case we could that a development strategy cannot be an aid strategy alone—trade and investment are part of the equation. We’ll hope the administration and members of Congress are persuaded.
Read More…

Comment »

 

A New Strategy for Aid to Pakistan

June 2, 2011

Posted by in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance, USAID Tags: , , , , , ,

Nancy Birdsall

This is a joint post with Wren Elhai and Molly Kinder and first appeared on ForeignPolicy.com’s AfPak Channel blog. Read the report of the Study Group on U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan here. A response from Alexander Thier, head of USAID’s Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs can be found here.

For nearly two years, the United States has been trying something completely new in Pakistan. In 2009, with President Obama’s backing, Congress passed a bold piece of legislation that committed the United States to support Pakistan’s people and its economy, as opposed to focusing almost exclusively on the country’s military. The United States would try to help Pakistanis consolidate the transition to democracy they won in 2008, and — for the first time — it seemed the United States would place an equal emphasis on long-term development and short-term stability in Pakistan.

So far, however, this new approach has not lived up to its potential. During a recent trip to Pakistan, we listened to dozens of Pakistanis in and out of government tell us of their frustrations with the U.S. aid program and American inaction on trade and investment policies (just look at the ongoing debate about lifting tariffs on the Pakistani textile trade with the United States) that would naturally complement aid. Over the past year, a study group of American and Pakistani experts convened by the Center for Global Development have gathered to figure out what’s amiss—and how to put it right. In a report released today, we sum up the problem this way:
Read More…

1 Comment »

 
 |