USAID Administrator Henrietta H. Fore (with microphone), joined by U.S. Ambassador Anne Derse (left), champions public-private partnerships to leading AmCham members.

Administrator Henrietta H. Fore was keynote speaker at a November 2008 luncheon sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham) and USAID partner, Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF). AmCham is a private, non-profit business association supporting and promoting the interests of business in Azerbaijan. EPF serves to “empower people to effect change for social justice and economic prosperity through hands-on programs, helping them to improve communities and lives.” Event attendees included AmCham members (American, foreign, and local) representing accounting and audit, banking, communications, energy, financial services, food, and insurance businesses operating in Azerbaijan.

Fore spoke to U.S. and Azerbaijani business executives about USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) initiative and discussed current and potential public-private partnerships in Azerbaijan. “Expanding Global Development Alliances is a top priority for USAID,” she explained. “I consistently challenge each USAID Mission Director and Bureau to triple the resources that we leverage. Our objective is not necessarily to increase the number of alliances; instead, we seek to increase the strategic value of our alliances, thereby fostering sustainable development in the developing world.”

Fore also emphasized that by bringing the public and private sector together, USAID merges the private sector’s best ideas and management techniques with the benevolence of development assistance, leading to mutually beneficial approaches that create more stable, democratic, market-oriented societies around the globe.

“I am pleased to report that the USAID Global Development Alliance Program has come to Azerbaijan. USAID and a consortium of oil companies have partnered with the Azerbaijan Ministry of Health to implement an Emergency Medicine Development Initiative. In addition, Chevron and StatoilHydro, through USAID’s Junior Achievement Project, will help secondary and high school Azerbaijani children improve their entrepreneurship and leadership skills. We continue to actively seek additional opportunities,“ Fore promised.

She concluded her remarks with a call to AmCham members to raise the bar in launching large-scale partnerships that are supportive of President Aliyev’s key priorities—agriculture, anti-corruption, ecology and environment, IT, and water and sanitation.