USAID: Office of the Transitional Initiatives 10th Anniversity
Remarks by Ambassador Said T. Jawad

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honored to be back among friends here at USAID for the happy occasion of celebrating the 10th birthday of the Office of Transitional Initiatives.

I an also thankful to my friend, Administrator Andrew Natsios for his leadership at the U.S. Agency for International Development and USAID’s and personal commitment to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is emerging as an exemplary model of successful transition through partnership with the international community.

I thank all the OTI staff who have worked very hard for peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan. Please keep up the good work.

OTI’s has left an important imprint on the lives of Afghan people. We remember your initial support for Afghanistan started in the form of emergency assistance to prevent large scale catastrophes in October 2001, during a period of population displacement caused by war.

When we moved forward from humanitarian assistance to investment for development, OTI was there building national institutions and democratic institutions by assisting with the convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga.

As we moved forward to build an open civil society, OTI further assisted with media projects in Afghanistan and played an important role in providing the Afghans with information and education about democratic processes.

OTI played a key role in improving Afghanistan’s media infrastructure, enabling programming to reach Afghans nationwide about key issues regarding the political transition and the elections process.

After the successful election, Afghans are very optimistic and have high expectations for the future. The Afghan people have put their trust in the benefits of democracy and international partnership. Now, it is up to the new government and the international community, our friends at USAID and other institutions will deliver and prove that this trust is properly placed.

Please keep up the good work, and happy birthday OTI.

Thank you.