About the Author: Alberto Rodriguez serves as a spokesperson at U.S. Embassy Islamabad.
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and his wife Marilyn Wyatt traveled to the flood-affected area of Kalam in Swat on Thursday, November 4. Accompanied by the Deputy Chief of the Office of the Defense Representative to Pakistan U.S. Brigadier General Michael Nagata, the Ambassador observed aid that was being delivered by U.S. military helicopters.
"As we continue to stand with Pakistan in support of its recovery efforts, my hope is the generous contributions of aid from nations around the world will also continue," said Ambassador Munter.
He met with a group of internally displaced persons that were waiting for helicopter transport. The Ambassador also met with the elder of this group and, afterwards, accompanied the group to the waiting… more »
About the Author: Philip Smucker serves as USAID Senior Development Outreach and Communications Director in Kabul, Afghanistan.
On Saturday, October 30, Afghan Minister Jarullah Mansoori came together with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partners to sign a crucial agreement to increase access to clean water and sanitation services in poor communities across Afghanistan.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) cements new Afghan measures to combat water-related diseases and improve access to potable water. The Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation (SWSS) project is a services delivery tool of the government. The project will increase water supply, promote good hygiene and boost community awareness for the need for water conservation. The overall budget of the project is about 52 million USD over the course of three years.… more »
U.S. Embassy Kabul has awarded USD 3.1 million to support NATO's "SILK-Afghanistan" program, which provides high-speed Internet access to more than 9,000 students and teachers at Afghan universities in seven provinces (Baghlan, Faryab, Ghazni, Helmand, Kunduz, Paktia and Parvan). The program will also enhance existing bandwidth for 28,000 students and lecturers… more »
About the Author: Alberto Rodriguez serves as a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari, U.S. Coordinator for Economic Assistance Ambassador Robin Raphel, and Senator Rukshana Zuberi today launched the "Women in Energy" conference on energy conservation, energy efficiency and solar power. The conference is being organized jointly by Women in Energy (WIE), a Pakistani non-governmental organization, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in order to discuss energy conservation, energy efficiency and green energy models for Pakistan.
“The timing of this event could not be better. The Government of Pakistan has embarked on fundamental effort to reform the power sector. These reforms are key to Pakistan's… more »
A particular highlight of this week for me was meeting a group of Pakistani water experts who are visiting the United States this month as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) organized by the State Department. During their two-week stay, these five local practitioners will meet with federal, state, and local officials and experts to study water supply and management techniques… more »
Speaking before reporters today after her meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi, Secretary Clinton said, "We have just wrapped up three days of intensive discussions in our third U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Each of these sessions has been more productive than the last as we deepen our understanding of each other's needs and discover new opportunities for cooperation. This time, we have final blueprints from each of our 13 working groups. They lay out specific agreements, actions and benchmarks for making tangible improvements in the lives of the Pakistani people. These include projects in water, electricity, women's empowerment, health, agriculture, and most urgently, jumpstarting Pakistan's recovery from the catastrophic floods.
"...As we conclude this third Strategic Dialogue session in seven months, we can see that our intensive consultations,… more »
About the Author: Dante Paradiso, a Special Assistant in the Bureau of African Affairs, formerly served as Senior Civilian Representative with BCT Task Force Mountain Warrior.
State Department officers, USAID development experts, and representatives from several other U.S. government agencies serve alongside the U.S. military throughout Afghanistan as part of our efforts to integrate civilian and military operations, including with Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), with combat battalions, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and District Support Teams.
BCT Task Force Mountain Warrior's area of operations covered the four eastern Afghanistan provinces of Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar and Laghman, and the BCT was deployed from June 2009 to June 2010. Task Force Bastogne replaced the Task Force Mountain Warrior team, but many civilians under Chief of Mission… more »
About the Author: Alberto Rodriguez serves as a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Eight winners of the Pakistan Fast Growth 25 -- a ranking of fast-growing enterprises -- are at Harvard University this week to attend the AllWorld Summit, where they will meet emerging entrepreneurs from around the world and receive training from some of the world's top entrepreneurs and academics. The Pakistan Fast Growth 25 is a program of AllWorld Network, in partnership with Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, and run in collaboration with JS Bank Limited, FPCCI, and other local partners. AllWorld's mission is to create one million jobs by 2015 by advancing the work of entrepreneurs in the emerging world and creating the next economy of ideas and jobs. more »
About the Author: Jennifer Galt serves as Public Affairs Advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO.
During his trip to Brussels, Paris, and The Hague on a USNATO-sponsored program, Afghan Governor Abdul Jabar Naeemi shared his struggles and triumphs in Khost Province with NATO and EU leaders, French and Dutch government officials, the press and civil society in a very real, concrete way, hammering home the importance of Europe's continued support to Afghanistan. While speaking with a wide range of audiences in these three European capitals, Governor Naeemi adopted a personal tone, sharing stories from his own experiences and emphasizing the progress that European efforts have made possible in Afghanistan.
At every stop on his trip, Governor Naeemi highlighted the successes taking root in Khost Province and throughout Afghanistan. The Governor took… more »
More than 1,000 kites soared across Herat Stadium yesterday, painting a stark contrast to the time when the Taliban outlawed kite-flying.
The event, which started at 2:30 p.m., was coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development in coordination with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and newly-appointed Herat Governor Duad Sabah. Artfully inscribed with justice-themed messages, the kites served as a medium to increase public knowledge of rule of law issues and to promote the use of Afghanistan's formal justice system.
Several radio stations conducted broadcasts… more »
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State —a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
It is enlightening to hear of such innovative ways to further positive diplomacy with the Pakistani people.
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Mazhar R. in Pakistan writes:
i must do appreciate for wonderful nice sincere and kind efforts for do help in Crisis in Pakistan made by the U.S and all who worked for that m from…
more »
Eric in New Mexico writes:
"It’s important to remember why we remain in Afghanistan. It was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted the 9/11 attacks that murdered 3,000 innocent people.…
more »
May 15: The United States and Indonesia demonstrated their commitment to enhancing bilateral science and technology cooperation at the inaugural Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation. more »
Assistant Secretary Gordon (May 14): "The Alliance is the mechanism through which the United States confronts diverse and difficult threats to our security together with like-minded states who share our fundamental values of democracy, human rights and rule of law. more »
![U.S., Afghan officials sign clean water compact, Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2010. [Embassy Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1104_afghan_water_signing_m.jpg)
![Man enters data on a computer in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 31, 2009. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1027_kabul_computer_m.jpg)
![Sunset silhouettes children playing in Karachi, Pakistan, April 26, 2010. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1025_pakistan_children_sunset_m.jpg)
![Under Secretary Otero with water management experts from Pakistan, Oct. 2010. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1022_ivlp_water_m.jpg)
![Soldiers patrol along the road in Kunr Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 2009. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1022_mountain_task_m.jpg)
![Pakistani stockbrokers talk in Karachi, Pakistan on June 30, 2010. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1019_pakistan_m.jpg)
![Afghan Governor Naeemi with BBC World at the Brussels Media Hub in Belgium, Oct. 2010. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1019_NATO_visit_m.jpg)
![Afghan boy holds a kite as he walks on outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 25, 2008. [AP File]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_1016_kite_afghanistan_m.jpg)
