Weekly Briefing (5/16/2011–5/20/2011)
May 16 AFP reported that the Central Bank of Iraq, with support from USAID, will be working to bring mobile banking to Iraqis. USAID is working to unify Iraq’s banking system, where only one fifth of Iraqis have bank accounts, while 70 percent have mobile phones.
May 17 MSNBC reported that USAID recently appointed four new members to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). The seven member board is a presidentially-appointed advisory committee whose primary role is to advise and assist the USAID Administrator on food security-related issues and the role of higher education in international agricultural development.
May 19 Voice of America wrote that at a special State Department press briefing to discuss the future of Sudan, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah stated how the two states can become economically viable. “They need to reinvest in agriculture, which continues to be the area of employment for 80 percent of the population.”
