The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has recently announced the suspension of various US aid programs for the repatriation of the Rohingya.
Development partners and other concerned people said that the US President's decision will have an adverse impact on Bangladesh and the whole world. There may also be extreme uncertainty about the future of various US cooperation projects in Bangladesh.
The website of the US international agency USAID stated that the United States has maintained a strong friendship with Bangladesh since its independence. The United States recognizes Bangladesh as a strategic partner in South Asia. The US partnership with Bangladesh is also determined by common interests.
According to USAID, USAID's program in Bangladesh is the largest in Asia. This program includes the world's most important food security and health programs, as well as strategically important democracy and good governance, basic education, and environmental issues. The United States oversees a large-scale humanitarian assistance program in Bangladesh to address the Rohingya crisis. USAID has been a long-standing partner in Bangladesh's progress towards becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2031.
The United States has been providing the most financial assistance to deal with the Rohingya crisis. Since August 2017, the United States has provided more than 250 crore dollars in assistance. Of this, 21 crore dollars is for the Rohingya and local communities in Bangladesh.
In addition to USAID, the United States provides assistance to Bangladesh through the Departments of State, Agriculture, Justice, Energy, and the Federal Trade Commission. In 2023, the United States provided 49 crore dollars (about Tk. 6000 crore) in assistance to Bangladesh. The partial amount of assistance for 2024 is also almost the same.
According to the executive order published on the website of the White House, the Office of the President of the United States, the United States is now going to reevaluate and implement its foreign assistance. The executive order states that the United States' foreign aid-supported industries and bureaucracy are not consistent with American interests and, in many cases, are contrary to American values. They disrupt world peace.
Regarding the policy, Trump's executive order states that the United States will no longer provide any assistance abroad that is inconsistent with the foreign policy of the President of the United States. U.S. development assistance abroad will be suspended for 90 days to assess the effectiveness and consistency of current U.S. foreign assistance programs.
According to Trump's executive order, the U.S. President's directive to suspend U.S. development assistance abroad for 90 days is mandatory for all relevant agencies to immediately implement. The heads of departments and agencies responsible for reviewing each foreign assistance program will determine the next steps in accordance with the Secretary of State's direction, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Budget and Management. After the review, the Secretary of State will decide whether to continue, modify, or terminate foreign assistance programs.
Bangladesh is closely monitoring President Trump's policies and implementation. The United States has withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO) under the suspension of foreign assistance. The United States has been providing significant funding to the WHO. The country's withdrawal from the WHO is likely to weaken the organization. This will have an impact on Bangladesh and the world.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department released a statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday evening. It said that President Trump has given clear instructions to prioritize national interests in U.S. foreign policy. The US Secretary of State said, ‘We must answer three simple questions for every dollar spent, every fund spent, and every policy pursued. They are—does it (aid, policy) make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’ Marco Rubio said, ‘We will build a more innovative, agile, and focused State Department to advance our national interests. This will require shifting some priorities, de-emphasizing some issues, and eliminating some practices.’
