WASHINGTON, D.C. – From December 10-12, Alex Thier, Assistant to the Administrator and Director of the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), traveled to Pakistan to visit USAID projects and meet with leaders from the Pakistani government, civil society, private sector, and international community.

On December 10, Assistant to the Administrator Thier met with international donors from the Department for International, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank to discuss poverty reduction efforts, energy programs and the importance of supporting Pakistani women.  He then went to the Ministry of Water and Power where he met with Federal Secretary Madame Nargis Sethi  and Chairman Syed Raghib Abbas Shah to discuss USAID support for the energy sector in Pakistan.  Later, he went to a community on the outskirts of Islamabad where he met with Pakistanis who now have access to clean water from a high efficiency water pump recently completed by USAID.  At the end of the day, he met with civil society leaders to discuss Pakistan’s upcoming elections.

On December 11, Assistant to the Administrator Thier met with Saleem Mandviwalla, Chair and Federal Minister of the Board of Investment and State Minister for Finance, to discuss Pakistan’s investment potential.   He then traveled to the Ministry of Finance to meet with Finance Secretary Abdul Wajid Rana to discuss continued US – Government of Pakistan cooperation.  Thier joined USAID Mission Director, Jock Conly, in a televised interview on Pakistan’s popular NewsOne talk show.  Later, he participated in a signing ceremony at the Serena Hotel to initiate an agribusiness project with 12 non-governmental organizations that will provide training to up to 45,000 farmers to help increase productivity and sales of  horticultural and livestock products.

On December 12, Assistant to the Administrator Thier traveled to Lahore, Pakistan where he met with Punjab Planning and Development Board Chairman Javaid Aslam to discuss provincial priorities and USAID programs with Pakistanis in the Punjab province.  Concluding his trip, Thier traveled to the Wagah Border, a key trade route between Pakistan and India.

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