USAID AND THE COUNCIL OF STATE SUPPORT TO NGOS SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

USAID and NGO Council sign the memorandum of understanding
Azay Guliyev and Paige Alexander sign the memorandum
Vugar Naghiyev/USAID

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, April 17, 2013
USAID/Azerbaijan
(+99412) 498-18-35

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Council of State Support to NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan (NGO Support Council) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing their partnership in the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Activity (SEDA) in Azerbaijan. Paige Alexander, USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, and Azay Guliyev, Chairman of the NGO Support Council, signed the memorandum.

The purpose of this MoU is to formalize the cooperation between USAID and the NGO Support Council in support of the SEDA Activity, which is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan. SEDA seeks to enable civil society organizations to engage effectively with government agencies and advocates for citizen-driven socio-economic development program.

Mr. Azay Guliyev, Chairman of the NGO Support Council, provided information about the Council, and its objectives and interests in its cooperation with USAID and the SEDA project.

The Chairman of the Council Mr. Guliyev noted that “The cooperation under this memorandum will strengthen citizens’ participation in local governance and decision-making in certain regions of the country, and is aimed at building relationships between NGOs and government and private sector. We hope that the memorandum that we signed today with USAID will further deepen cooperation between these two distinguished institutions that seek to strengthen civil society in the country.”

“This is an important agreement that has been signed by our two organizations and as such it represents a historic milestone in cooperation that began a few years ago between us,” said Ms. Paige Alexander. She further observed that “Both organizations recognize the importance of equitable economic and social development, and support active citizen participation.”

Ms. Alexander and Mr. Guliyev signed the MoU in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, USAID and civil society organizations.