On Thursday, July 8th, IFES hosted a group of Afghan professionals visiting the United States on a program sponsored by the Department of State's International Visitors Program that was arranged by Meridian International Center. In the meeting, IFES staff (Vasu Mohan, deputy regional director for Europe & Asia; Jena Karim, program officer; and Jonathan Zalkind, program officer) gave the visiting delegation an overview of IFES activities in Afghanistan, including our partnership with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the important work being done in civic education and gender mainstreaming. A lengthy discussion was also held on the role of international aid within the country and the socio-political effects of government corruption.