USAID mission chief: "We see supporting IDPs returning home after almost 30 years as a high priority for us"

The Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Azerbaijan, Jay Singh is completing his mission in the country. Report provides an exclusive interview with Jay Singh, in which he spoke about the results of his activities in Azerbaijan.

- You have served as USAID's mission director since 2018. What do you believe USAID has accomplished in that time?

- I am the longest-serving Mission Director. I really believed in my mission here and that the relationship with Azerbaijan is truly important. My four-year stay in Azerbaijan made many contributions to foreign policy, our partnership, and friendship with the government of Azerbaijan and its people.

We have done much good work here. In 2018, when I got here, our relationship with the government was a little bit tense. I embarked on a very strong diplomatic engagement to work with the government and explain what and how we are doing. That opened many doors because the level of transparency of our programs that I offered to the Azerbaijani government was welcomed.

In 2018, we did a lot of work together, in collaboration with the government. It's not that Azerbaijan needs our investments, but as an agency, we facilitate the evolution of Azerbaijan's democratic governance. It's still a young country, and I strongly believe in the government's plans towards the diversification of the economy and working with women entrepreneurs. I felt that those things are where the investment of our time and resources is. As Americans, we feel that the diversification of the economy, empowering women entrepreneurs, and giving them leadership roles are some things that we strongly believe in.

Since 2018, we have been through quite a bit. For example, we have been through COVID-19, during which I was able to get resources from our government to support Azerbaijan's response. We also went through the war, which is a game-changer for all of us. We are happy that Azerbaijan has got its territories back. That also makes our life interesting because we have new areas to invest in.

We have supported the Red Cross Society, UNICE, WHO, launched a strong health program with the Ministry of Health, and have some great partners in the Ministry of Health, KOBIA, Ministry of Agriculture, and others. There's a lot we have done in the past few years and I have also increased the presence of our stuff in Azerbaijan.

After four years, I feel that this is a wonderful country, the people are welcoming, and the food is incredible. Tourism is a huge economic potential for the government and the people. There's a lot we can do. I also feel that there's a tremendous potential for women to grow.

As for my next mission, I will be a director for the Center for Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure. So, I will be covering climate change issues, renewable energy and I hope I still can support Azerbaijan's vision for their energy security

- USAID continues to promote a more competitive and favorable business environment in Azerbaijan. How exactly is the agency doing this?

- The strong economic partnership between our two countries is necessary. It provides Azerbaijan with an additional market.

As USAID, we support farmers. One of the fascinating things about Azerbaijan is that farmers are very hardworking. When we have invested in hazel farming, we have seen a tremendous increase in incomes.

We have also done four women's resource centers. We have seen that nine out of ten women we have supported for business entrepreneurship have succeeded not only during COVID-19 but were able to maintain their families with income.

We have a major program called "Private Sector Activity" (PSA) that was launched in 2019 and is working with the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Agriculture, AZPROMO, US-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce, and others, that allowed Azerbaijani entrepreneurs to connect with outside markets. PSA did much good work as one of our major contracts to open up additional doors and provide training and capacity-building for people. We have regular PSA working groups that bring our staff together with the Ministry of Economy, KOBIA, State Tax Service, FAO, and others that help to eliminate barriers for trade outside of the country.

- The USAID is also very much involved in Azerbaijan's agribusinesses. Which other sectors are you interested in?

- We are looking at tourism. You know, it's a very beautiful country. I have been to almost every region. This isn't as big a country as the USA, but it has so much diversity in terms of people and food. And there's so much potential for tourism. So we're looking for tourism as another option for us to invest in. We see that investing in Azerbaijan also makes sense for our economy.

So, other sectors we're interested in are tourism, IT, capacity building, women entrepreneurship, and, of course, higher education exchange programs.

- The computer labs, funded by USAID and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), include 21 new computers at Astara Pedagogical College and 17 computers at Lankaran State University for students' use. Can we expect any other similar projects in the educational field?

- We want to see more of these types of exchange programs because, thanks to them, Azerbaijan can also teach us a lot of things. Facilitating those tools of exchange through computer programing, the higher education programs is a very good way of facilitating our partnership and cooperation.

We feel like there's a great ability to exchange ideas. We also want to see our students come to Azerbaijan and vice versa. That allows us to understand how to overcome the barriers and become more competitive.

Also, the Oklahoma State University (OSU) has provided instate tuitions for exchange programs. So, a student goes for free to the USA. We want to see this kind of exchange program replicated in other areas of education as well. We would like to see communication programs, tourism programs, developing joint programs for nursing and medicine.

We would like to see more of those types of engagements. Hopefully, the next year or later, we will get other states, too, besides Oklahoma. Oklahoma has been a great partner with us.

- How does USAID contribute to the liberated lands?

- We have a program – the Social Engagement Support Activity, which is a $15 million and 5-year program that's purposing on the liberated territories. We hope to do more, but this is the start. We see supporting IDPs returning home after almost 30 years as a high priority for us. Having citizens who have been displaced for so long, we want to support them.

After the war [the Second Karabakh war], Azerbaijan is a gateway for trade and logistics for the South Caucasus. With all the resources the government has, including oil and gas, it can be a model for the region. The president has a great vision when it comes to regional economic integration, and we would like to find ways to support that. We stand ready to support the government in its regional programs. I see Azerbaijan as a critical partner and the bulwark of security in this region. The role that Azerbaijan plays is very critical in the security and stability of the region