Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog

 

Posts Tagged: Energy

 

Mangoes vs. Peanuts and More: What We Saw and Didn’t See in Hillary Clinton’s Trip to Pakistan

July 22, 2010

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

Wren Elhai

This is a joint post with Molly Kinder.

This week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan was front-page news in every Pakistani newspaper (and most here in the United States as well).  Clinton brought with her two main things: a long list of new aid projects worth half a billion dollars—see the box below for what was on the list—and a strong message to Pakistanis that the United States intends to stick it out for the long haul.

Before the trip, we thought this was the best chance Clinton would have to signal to the Pakistanis that the U.S. development program wasn’t the sort of fickle short-sighted engagement they’ve come to expect from the United States. (And we outlined an idea for how she should do that).  The result: while Clinton’s visit fell short of being a real game-changer, it was a clear, though incremental, step forward. Read More…

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Pakistan’s Energy Sector: Groundhog Day for USA?

June 4, 2010

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

Molly Kinder

This is a joint post with Wren Elhai.

As the United States tries to contribute to a solution to Pakistan’s energy crisis, it’s worth looking at what others have done. Not one of the hurdles to a sustainable energy policy is new—and in fact other donors have spent years engaging in this arena. What is new is a sense of urgency within Pakistan, as street protests erupt over rolling blackouts and Prime Minister Gilani calls resolving the energy shortage his top priority.  As Nancy Birdsall wrote in her third open letter to Ambassador Holbrooke, now is an opportune moment to put Pakistan’s energy sector on a solid foundation. As the administration pours in U.S. aid dollars and engages in dialogue with Pakistani policymakers, there is much that the team can learn from the failures of past attempts to reform Pakistan’s energy sector. Read More…

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