About MEPI

The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is a regional program that helps citizens in the Middle East and North Africa develop more pluralistic, participatory, and prosperous societies.  From within the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau at the State Department, MEPI advances U.S. foreign policy goals by supporting citizens’ efforts at economic, social, and political empowerment, expanding opportunities for women and youth, and helping communities work alongside governments in shaping their own futures.  MEPI’s activities underscore President Obama and Secretary Clinton’s commitment to democracy and civil society in the region, and follow the approach the President laid out in his Cairo speech: engaging with peoples as well as governments, in a spirit of mutual respect and rooted in a commitment to universal values.

MEPI staff, based in Washington, D.C., Tunis, and Abu Dhabi, as well as in U.S. embassies throughout the MENA region, works to identify the needs articulated by the people of the region and creates partnerships with NGOs, academic institutions, and even governments, to address those needs.