Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced last Friday in an article in the Huffington Post that he will introduce a bill in Congress in the coming weeks “to create a new professional exchange program between the United States and Muslim-majority countries”:

This pilot program would allow young American professionals to spend six months overseas experiencing a new culture in Muslim countries while gaining new work experiences. And it would allow citizens of those countries to spend six months in the United States, where they will gain valuable work skills and see what life in America is all about. In a small but significant way, both journeys will help to lay the groundwork for improved relations going forward.

Kerry notes that this new program will “emphasize the next step” beyond academic exchange programs such as Fulbright: “career development for young professionals." Kerry's statement comes on the heels of President Obama's Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in April, during which the President announced the U.S.' intention to launch "several new exchange programs” with the Muslim world.

The Alliance will report further on this new exchange program once the bill has been introduced and more details become available.