[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 139 (Friday, July 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47099-47100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14981]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  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.

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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 (https://usaid.zoomgov.com/j/1613820653) 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 [email protected]. 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 [email protected] 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, 
[email protected].

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:
     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;
     strengthening engagement between Palestinians and 
Israelis, including through people-to-people peace-building programs to 
increase the bonds of friendship and understanding; and
     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:

 Chair: The Honorable George R. Salem
 The Honorable Elliott Abrams
 Farah Bdour
 Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
 Rabbi Michael M. Cohen
 Sander Gerber
 Ambassador Mark Green (ret.)
 Hiba Husseini
 Heather Johnston
 Harley Lippman
 The Honorable Nita M. Lowey
 Dina Powell McCormick
 Nickolay Mladenov
 Jen Stewart
 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: https://www.usaid.gov/west-bank-and-gaza/meppa.
    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: (https://usaid.zoomgov.com/j/1613820653).
    American Sign Language interpretation will be provided during the 
public meeting. Requests for reasonable accommodations should be 
directed to Daniel McDonald at [email protected]. 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