DUSHANBE, 07.12.2021 (NIAT Khovar) – In an official ceremony held in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Washington, D.C., Peter Riley was sworn in as the Mission Director for USAID in Tajikistan.

“Riley will bring all of his passion and skills to guide USAID/Tajikistan as it manages the largest bilateral portfolio in Central Asia and strengthens USAID’s role as a trusted partner of the Tajik people,” remarked Administrator Samantha Power.

Upon assuming the office, Riley voiced his commitment to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Tajikistan and helping the people of Tajikistan live more prosperous lives.

“The naming of the first permanent Mission Director for America’s global development agency and the establishment of a bilateral USAID mission in Dushanbe demonstrates our long-term commitment to the people of Tajikistan,” noted the US Ambassador to Tajikistan John Mark Pommersheim who attended the event virtually from Dushanbe.

Riley is a career USAID Foreign Service Officer with over 30 years of international development experience. Prior to his new role, Riley served as the Director of USAID in Tunisia, the Director of the Office of Economic Growth and Infrastructure in the USAID West Bank/Gaza Mission, the Director of the Office of Consolidation, Land and Environment at USAID/Colombia, and a Senior Stabilization Advisor for USAID/Afghanistan.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Riley was the Senior Regional Advisor for Africa for the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in Nairobi, Kenya, and served as the Chief of Party for USAID-funded projects in the Horn of Africa, Liberia, and Uganda. Riley has also lived and worked in Jordan, Croatia, Ethiopia, Botswana, the Gambia, and Chad.