Discussion on ‘MCC and Nepal’ to be held on September 30

KATHMANDU: Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) in collaboration with Khabarhub is organizing discussion on ‘Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and Nepal’ on September 30, 2021.

In the light of increasingly contested and polarized debates taking place on MCC in Nepal, the event, according to the organizers, seeks to address the misinformation and disinformation surrounding MCC debate in Nepal.

The interactive session will feature a stellar lineup of experts; Sarah Rose, Jim Mazzarella and Conor M. Savoy, affiliated with reputed think-tanks based in the United States.

Sarah Rose is a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development (GIF). Her work, as part of the Center’s US Development Policy Initiative, focuses on US government aid effectiveness. Previously, Rose worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mozambique as a specialist in strategic information and monitoring and evaluation. She also worked at MCC, focusing on the agency’s country selection and eligibility processes.

Conor Savoy is a senior fellow with the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to CSIS, he was the executive director of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN), where he worked closely with U.S. government development agencies, implementing partners, Congress, and other stakeholders to advance a positive aid reform agenda. In addition to his work at CSIS, he frequently consults with U.S. government agencies, NGOs and other implementing partners, and the private sector on evolving trends in international development.

Jim Mazzarella is a Senior Vice President of Policy and Communications at the Center for Global Development. He joined GIF after serving at the White House’s National Security Council as Senior Director for Global Economics and Development, where he was one of the primary architects of the new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and over a decade at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the American aid agency that focuses on impact evaluation as a core tenet.

The hour-long in-depth discussion will bring different aspects of MCC and its implication on Nepal which will be moderated by the Director of NIICE, Dr. Pramod Jaiswal.

Khabarhub has been organizing series of discussion on Millennium Challenge Corporation.