USAID will continue to sponsor vital projects in the fields of water, job creation, and health, but emphasis will also be put on securing support for the national e-government and e-learning strategies, said Chamberlin, assistant administrator for the Bureau for Asia and the Near East at USAID. "What I saw today is the future of our cooperation," Chamberlin commented on Saturday, after a visit to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT).
Declaring herself "impressed by the creative thinking" behind the e-government and e-learning projects, and by the "forward-looking thinking among the young staff" at the MoICT, Chamberlin hailed the "Connecting Jordanians" initiative, which aims, among others, to provide citizens with Internet access points at public places such as kiosks and post offices.
E-government "means transparency and accountability, it is the ultimate anti-corruption project," the USAID envoy told The Jordan Times in an interview.
As for e-learning, "we will be helpful in providing technical assistance in developing electronic curricula," she added.
USAID has already funded large chunks of the national strategy for the development of the IT sector and software industry, and for the implementation of e-learning and e-government, including a secure government network that became operational a few months ago.
Reaffirming USAID's commitment to support the next phases of the e-government and e-learning drives, Chamberlin said: "It is a field that is wide open and there is obviously a potential for Jordan to become a centre for e-learning in the Arabic-speaking world."
As to strategies for IT development, e-government and e-learning, "Jordan is in the lead amongst the countries I've visited," said the envoy, responsible for development projects in scores of countries from Morocco to the Philippines.
Since her arrival from Egypt on Wednesday evening, Chamberlin, a previous ambassador to Pakistan, has visited large areas of southern Jordan.
On Thursday in Aqaba, Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Aqel Biltaji took her on a tour of projects in the Red Sea city, including a centre to train local women in sewing, so that they can be employed by garment industries already open or expected to open there.
On Friday in Wadi Musa, Chamberlin visited a wastewater treatment plant, and expressed satisfaction at the cross-sectoral nature of the project, which also envisages, in addition to the collection of wastewater, the reuse of treated water for agriculture purposes, and the building of a public park for the local community.
In Petra, she visited archaeological projects sponsored by USAID and carried out in cooperation with the American Centre for Oriental Research.
Back in Amman on Friday night, she met with Iraqi Education Minister Aladdin Alwan, to discuss the ministry's "forward-looking ideas" that could also develop into close Jordanian-Iraqi cooperation in the field of education.
As head of the USAID Bureau for Asia and the Near East, Chamberlin oversees a budget of $4.3 billion for programmes throughout the Middle East, South Asia and Asia, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories.
A trip to Iraq, after Congress' recent approval of a $20 billion assistance package for the war-wrecked country, is still in the planning stages, Chamberlin told The Jordan Times. "We expect to award a $1.5 billion reconstruction contract by mid-December," she added.
In addition to the MoICT, the USAID envoy on Saturday also visited a clinic in the industrial and densely populated area of Sahab.
Before leaving for Morocco, the third and last leg of her regional tour, Chamberlin is scheduled to meet today with Planning and International Cooperation Minister Bassem Awadallah and Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Agricultue Hazem Nasser.
Asked about the problems of image that, due to Washington's Middle Eastern policies and perceived bias towards Israel, USAID is facing in the Arab world, according to many, the ambassador swiftly replied: "Our strong belief is not to worry about public relations, but to focus all our energies on working with the people of the host country to deliver aid that is meaningful and helpful."
US economic assistance to Jordan in the fiscal year 2003 included an ordinary $250 million package and a $700 million extraordinary package to help the Kingdom face the consequences of the war on Iraq.
Economic assistance for 2004 totals $250 million, the US embassy here said.
Quelle: MENAFN, 09.11.2003
