A signing ceremony between USAID and the Guinean government took place in Conakry Tuesday May 22, 2007 in the conference room of the Ministry of Cooperation. With Mr. Jack Winn, Director of USAID/Guinea looking on, Mr. Jackson McDonald U.S. Ambassador to Guinea and His Excellency Mr. Abdoul Kabélè Camara Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, and Guinean Expatriate Affairs signed on behalf of their respective governments.

Within the framework of this agreement, the government of the United States via USAID has granted $4,758,817 to Guinea. These funds constitute the second section of the total financing of USAID’s new strategic plan 2006-2008 of for a global sum of $37,270,558.

The funds will be used to support the vast multi-sectoral USAID project "Faisons Ensemble" centered on Democracy and Governance. This project will be executed by a consortium of seven NGOs spearheaded by RTI - Research Triangle Institute. The consortium includes two local NGOs: CENAFOD - the African Center of Training for Development and REFMAP - the Network of Women of the Mano River for Peace. The principal components of the assistance program center on:

• The strengthening of civil society;
• The promotion and support of anti-corruption reform in sectors identified by USAID;
• The support of freedom of expression and the liberalization of the media; and
• The support of decentralization and rural communities.

It should be noted that of these funds, $200,000 will be used to support the new CENI - Independent National Electoral Commission on the promotion and support of a credible electoral process during the next electoral consultations.