USAID: Office of the Transitional Initiatives 10th Anniversity
Remarks by Ambassador Said T. Jawad
11/17/2004
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to be back among friends here at
USAID for the happy occasion of celebrating the 10th birthday
of the Office of Transitional Initiatives.
I an also thankful to my friend, Administrator
Andrew Natsios for his leadership at the U.S. Agency for International
Development and USAID’s and personal commitment to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is emerging as an exemplary model of successful
transition through partnership with the international community.
I thank all the OTI staff who have worked very
hard for peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan. Please
keep up the good work.
OTI’s has left an important imprint on the
lives of Afghan people. We remember your initial support for
Afghanistan started in the form of emergency assistance to prevent
large scale catastrophes in October 2001, during a period of
population displacement caused by war.
When we moved forward from humanitarian assistance
to investment for development, OTI was there building national
institutions and democratic institutions by assisting with the
convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga.
As we moved forward to build an open civil society,
OTI further assisted with media projects in Afghanistan and
played an important role in providing the Afghans with information
and education about democratic processes.
OTI played a key role in improving Afghanistan’s
media infrastructure, enabling programming to reach Afghans
nationwide about key issues regarding the political transition
and the elections process.
After the successful election, Afghans are very optimistic and
have high expectations for the future. The Afghan people have
put their trust in the benefits of democracy and international
partnership. Now, it is up to the new government and the international
community, our friends at USAID and other institutions will
deliver and prove that this trust is properly placed.
Please keep up the good work, and happy birthday
OTI.
Thank you.
