Notice2023-14981
Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board; Notice of Meeting
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 21, 2023
Issuing agencies
Agency for International Development
Abstract
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announces a public meeting, and requests public comment for the third meeting of the Partnership for Peace Fund (PPF) Advisory Board to receive further information on the DFC's Joint Investment for Peace Initiative under MEPPA; discuss feedback and insights from the recent Board trip to Israel and the West Bank; and provide recommendations for peacebuilding programming at USAID. A portion of this meeting will be closed to the public.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 139 (Friday, July 21, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 139 (Friday, July 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47099-47100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14981]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 139 / Friday, July 21, 2023 /
Notices
[[Page 47099]]
AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board; Notice of Meeting
AGENCY: United States Agency for International Development.
ACTION: Request for public comment and notice of public meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
announces a public meeting, and requests public comment for the third
meeting of the Partnership for Peace Fund (PPF) Advisory Board to
receive further information on the DFC's Joint Investment for Peace
Initiative under MEPPA; discuss feedback and insights from the recent
Board trip to Israel and the West Bank; and provide recommendations for
peacebuilding programming at USAID. A portion of this meeting will be
closed to the public.
DATES:
1. Written comments and information are requested on or before
August 21, 2023, at 5 p.m. EDT.
2. The public meeting will take place on Thursday, August 24, 2023,
from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT via the Zoom platform (<a href="https://usaid.zoomgov.com/j/1613820653">https://usaid.zoomgov.com/j/1613820653</a>) followed by the closed portion.
3. The meeting does not require pre-registration.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments regarding the work of the PPF
Advisory Board by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b1fcf4e1e1f0f1c4c2d0d8d59fd6dec7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d50584d4d5c5d686e7c7479337a726b">[email protected]</span></a>. Include ``Public Comment,
PPF Advisory Board Meeting, August 24'' in the subject line. All public
comments and questions will be included in the official record of the
meeting and posted publicly on the USAID website.
Please email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#165b53464657566365777f7238717960"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="59141c090918192c2a38303d773e362f">[email protected]</span></a> to request reasonable accommodations
for the public meeting. Include ``Request for Reasonable Accommodation,
PPF Advisory Board Meeting, August 24'' in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan McDonald, 202-712-4938,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="58353d282839182d2b39313c763f372e">[email protected]</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In December 2020, Congress passed the Nita
M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, or MEPPA, with
bipartisan support. The Act directs USAID and the U.S. International
Development Finance Corporation (DFC), in coordination with the
Department of State, to program $250 million over five years to build
the foundation for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and
Palestinians through a new PPF, managed by USAID, and a Joint
Investment Initiative, managed by the DFC.
MEPPA serves as a recognition that economic, social, and political
connections between Israelis and Palestinians are the best way to
foster mutual understanding and provide the strongest basis for a
sustainable, two-state solution. USAID's Middle East Bureau has been
working with Congress, interagency colleagues, and partners in Israel,
the West Bank, and Gaza to implement the Act. MEPPA also calls for the
establishment of a board to advise USAID on the strategic direction of
the PPF.
Composed of up to 15 members, the PPF Advisory Board includes
development experts, private sector leaders and faith-based leaders who
are appointed by members of Congress and the USAID Administrator. As
stated in its charter, the Board's role is to:
1. To consult with, provide information to and advise USAID, and
other U.S. Government agencies, as appropriate, on matters and issues
relating to the PPF, including on:
<bullet> the efficacy of United States and international support
for grassroots, people-to-people efforts aimed at fostering tolerance,
countering extremist propaganda and incitement in the State of Israel,
the West Bank, and Gaza;
<bullet> strengthening engagement between Palestinians and
Israelis, including through people-to-people peace-building programs to
increase the bonds of friendship and understanding; and
<bullet> investing in cooperation that develops the Palestinian
economy and results in joint economic ventures;
2. To make recommendations on the types of projects USAID should
seek to further the purposes of the People-to-People PPF;
3. To make recommendations on partnerships with foreign governments
and international organizations to leverage the impact of the PPF; and
4. To inform USAID's required reporting to the appropriate
Congressional committees.
The following are the current members of the Advisory Board:
<bullet> Chair: The Honorable George R. Salem
<bullet> The Honorable Elliott Abrams
<bullet> Farah Bdour
<bullet> Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
<bullet> Rabbi Michael M. Cohen
<bullet> Sander Gerber
<bullet> Ambassador Mark Green (ret.)
<bullet> Hiba Husseini
<bullet> Heather Johnston
<bullet> Harley Lippman
<bullet> The Honorable Nita M. Lowey
<bullet> Dina Powell McCormick
<bullet> Nickolay Mladenov
<bullet> Jen Stewart
<bullet> The Honorable Robert Wexler
PPF Advisory Board meetings are held twice a year and are public.
More information about how USAID is implementing MEPPA to increase
people-to-people partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians is
available at: <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/west-bank-and-gaza/meppa">https://www.usaid.gov/west-bank-and-gaza/meppa</a>.
The purpose of this meeting is for the Advisory Board to gain a
better understanding of the progress so far to program funds under the
PPF to bring Israelis and Palestinians together to increase
understanding and advance the goal of a two-state solution.
During this meeting, the Board will (1) receive further information
on the DFC's Joint Investment for Peace Initiative under MEPPA; (2)
discuss feedback and insights from the recent Board trip to Israel and
the West Bank; and (3) provide recommendations for peacebuilding
programming at USAID. The close portion of the meeting will involve
discussion of matters determined to be exempt from the open meeting and
public participation requirements found in Sections 10(a)(1) and
10(a)(3) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. 1001-
1014).
Closed Meeting Exemption and Determination
The exemption is authorized by section 10(d) of the FACA, which
[[Page 47100]]
permits the closure of advisory committee meetings, or portions
thereof, if the head of the agency to which the advisory committee
reports determines such meetings may be closed to the public in
accordance with subsection (c) of the Government in the Sunshine Act (5
U.S.C. 552b(c)). In this case, the applicable provisions of 5 U.S.C.
552b(c) are subsection 552b(c)(9)(B), which permits closure to protect
information that would be likely to significantly frustrate
implementation of a proposed agency action were it to be disclosed
prematurely, and 552b(c)(6), which permits closure to protect
information disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of privacy. The closed session of the meeting will involve
committee discussions and guidance regarding USAID's strategies and
policies that substantially impact the interests of third-parties. The
Administrator, with the concurrence of the General Counsel, formally
determined on June 13, 2023 pursuant to section 10 of the FACA, (5
U.S.C. 1009(d)), that the portion of the meeting dealing with the
privacy interests of third-parties and pre-decisional changes to Agency
source selection policies and evaluation criteria relating to awards
under the Partnership for Peace Fund shall be exempt from the
provisions relating to public meetings found in 5 U.S.C. 1009(a)(1) and
1009(a)(3).
The remaining portions of the meeting will be open to the public.
The open session will be accessible to the public. See details
below.
Request for Public Comment
To inform the direction and advice of the Board, USAID invites
written comments from the public on areas for focus and strategies for
people-to-people peacebuilding under the PPF.
Written comments and information are requested on or before Monday,
August 21, 2023, at 5 p.m. EDT. Include ``Public Comment, PPF Advisory
Board Meeting, August 24'' in the subject line. Please submit comments
and information as a Word or PDF attachment to your email. You are
encouraged to submit written comments even if you plan to attend the
public meeting. All public comments and questions will be included in
the official record of the meeting and posted publicly on the USAID
website.
Public Meeting
A public meeting will take place Thursday, August 24, 2023, from 9
a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT. [The closed portion of the meeting will take
place from approximately 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The open portion of
the meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.]. This meeting is
free and open to the public. Persons wishing to attend the meeting
should use the following link: (<a href="https://usaid.zoomgov.com/j/1613820653">https://usaid.zoomgov.com/j/1613820653</a>).
American Sign Language interpretation will be provided during the
public meeting. Requests for reasonable accommodations should be
directed to Daniel McDonald at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4d00081d1d0c0d383e2c2429632a223b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="19545c494958596c6a78707d377e766f">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
``Request for Reasonable Accommodation, PPF Advisory Board Meeting,
August 24'' in the subject line.
Megan Doherty,
USAID Designated Federal Officer for the PPF Advisory Board, Bureau for
the Middle East, U.S. Agency for International Development.
[FR Doc. 2023-14981 Filed 7-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6116-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 21, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.