USAID signs new 5-year agreement with $ 65 m support for Sri Lanka

Tuesday, 20 September 2022 01:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Building on the USAID Administrator Samantha Powers’s recent visit, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung announced last week that the United States, through USAID, will provide an additional estimated $ 65 million (more than 23 billion rupees) in assistance to Sri Lanka over a five-year period.

The assistance falls under the Development Objectives Assistance Agreement (DOAG) signed by USAID Sri Lanka and Maldives Mission Director Gabriel Grau and Finance Ministry Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena.

This funding is in addition to over $ 60 million (21 billion rupees) of new humanitarian and fertiliser assistance that Administrator Power announced last week in response to the current economic and political crises in Sri Lanka.

In celebration of the start of this new bilateral agreement, Ambassador Julie Chung remarked: “The United States and the American people are proud of our enduring and robust partnership with the people and Government of Sri Lanka. We remain fully committed to supporting locally led initiatives to advance a stable, prosperous, and peaceful Sri Lanka – critical to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific in which all nations are connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure.”

The US, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is committed to supporting Sri Lanka to advance market-driven growth, environmental sustainability and resilience, and good governance. All USAID funding for Sri Lanka is provided as gifts or grants and is implemented by local and international organisations that adhere to strict monitoring standards.

The US has provided more than $ 2 billion (approximately 720 rupees) in development assistance to Sri Lanka since 1956.