Ms. Paige Alexander, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), arrived in Azerbaijan on a two-day visit.

She will join Mr. Thomas Melia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights, and will meet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, to discuss inter-governmental development cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan. The high-level delegation is also expected to meet with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The delegation will also have meetings with the Head of OSCE office in Baku and ambassadors of European Union countries.

Today, together with Mr. Azay Guliyev, Chairman of the Council of State Support to NGOs, Ms. Alexander will sign a Memorandum of Understanding between USAID and the State Council regarding the cooperation on the Socio and Economic Development Activity (SEDA) jointly funded by the U.S. Government and the Government of Azerbaijan (GOAJ).

During the visit Ms. Alexander will also meet with representatives of civil society organizations, human rights NGOs, and media advocates.

On April 18, Ms. Alexander will travel to Guba. Following a meeting with the local authorities, she will hold discussions with the Community Development Council and residents of Zardabi village. She will then inaugurate the “Community Road and Street Light Rehabilitation” project in Zardabi community that was completed under the USAID-GOAJ supported SEDA project. She will also visit a cold storage facility in Guba that receives support from USAID’s Azerbaijan Competitiveness and Trade project.

Paige Alexander has over 20 years of experience in international development. From 2001-2010, Ms. Alexander was Senior Vice President at IREX, an international nonprofit development organization that supports educators, journalists and community leaders in over 100 countries. Prior to joining IREX, she served for eight years in a number of positions in USAID’s Europe and Eurasia Bureau.