The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent U.S. federal government agency that supports long-term and sustainable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting: economic growth; agriculture and trade; global health; and democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.

USAID provides assistance in four regions of the world: Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Eurasia. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID's strength is its field offices around the world. USAID country missions work in close partnership with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, American businesses, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. government agencies. USAID has working relationships with more than 3,500 American companies and over 300 U.S.-based private voluntary organizations.

USAID/Cyprus
USAID assistance to Cyprus began as a humanitarian relief operation in the summer of 1974 and has since evolved into a multi-sector development program aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of interaction between the estranged and geographically-separated Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities and reducing the significant economic disparity between the communities to reinforce the practical, economic foundation for reunification under a future bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. USAID assistance supports cooperation between individuals and organizations from the two sides in order to reduce tensions and promote a climate that will foster reconciliation and a durable peace settlement.

USAID's Cyprus Partnership for Economic Growth Program (CyPEG), which began at the end of 2004, firmly supports the goal of reunification and empowered cooperation of all Cypriots. CyPEG will accelerate economic growth in the Turkish-Cypriot community to directly support north-south economic integration and the adoption and implementation of EU standards, and lead to a Turkish-Cypriot community that can shoulder its share of the economic costs of settlement and reunification. USAID will continue to support activities that strengthen the Turkish Cypriot economy by improving enterprise competitiveness at the firm and sector levels, facilitating access to capital, improving the environment in which banks and businesses operate, further professionalizing and upgrading the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, enhancing vocational training, improving cultural heritage and natural resource management, and improving resource efficiency. 

The SAVE Project is one of five projects which have been funded under the CyPEG program. The Mission’s Strategic Objective (SO) is: Conditions to foster a durable settlement in Cyprus are strengthened.  The Intermediate Result which the CyPEG Program and the SAVE Project specifically supports is IR 2: Increased parity of economic opportunity. 
To find out more about the USAID work here in Cyprus please visit

USAID/Cyprus: http://www.usaid.gov/cy/

U.S. Embassy: http://cyprus.usembassy.gov/

Embassy at Work: http://cyprus.usembassy.gov/embatwork.html