WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dr. Raj Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will travel to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon from November 5-8 for meetings and site visits.  His trip will focus on USAID’s development assistance to the region, including USAID programs supporting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, as well as U.S. assistance to Lebanon and Jordan.

While in the region, Dr. Shah will meet with local implementing partners, U.S. government teams, and local government officials. In Jordan and Lebanon, the USAID Administrator will visit USAID programs including those that help alleviate pressures on local communities hosting Syrian refugees. According to UNHCR, Jordan currently hosts approximately 550,000 Syrian refugees, the majority of whom live outside refugee camps in local Jordanian communities. Similarly, Lebanon has absorbed close to 800,000 Syrian refugees.

In the West Bank, Dr. Shah will visit multiple USAID projects including an agribusiness exhibition, a Hi-Tech entrepreneurship hub, and various infrastructure projects. Dr. Shah also will be in the region to highlight public-private partnership initiatives, including projects designed to enhance economic growth and reduce the region’s high unemployment rates.

For more information about Administrator Shah’s travel, please contact USAIDPressOfficers@USAID.gov. Stay tuned for updates via Twitter @USAID.

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