June 17, 2011- Relief International held Wednesday (June 16) a national conference as part of its three-year program aimed at Empowering Municipalities through Local Economic Development (EMLED), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The conference was organized in collaboration with Beyond Reform & Development; a business specialized in social consultancy, offering policy and public administration consulting across the Middle East.

Titled: ‘The Path… From Local Development to National Policy’, the conference underlined future economic opportunities for government, municipal and community leaders from 130 villages,” according to a statement issued after the conference.

The statement said EMLED, also known as Baladiyat, has provided over 200 grants, promoting effective engagement through the establishment of 79 Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

 It said the program has created more than 400 jobs in rural areas, and encouraged the participation of municipalities, attracting more than $2.5 million in private capital and $370,000 in municipal cost share.

The statement said Relief International has trained nearly 600 municipal officials on local economic development, strategic planning and public private partnerships. It also said it has trained around 1000 persons on business and technical knowledge and skills, and 600 women on leadership, communication and confidence building skills.