Us Stopped Economic Aid to Bangladesh: As soon as Donald Trump returns to power in America, a new challenge has arisen in front of the interim government of Bangladesh. The US government has stopped financial assistance to Bangladesh, causing many development projects and schemes run by international organizations there. It has a direct impact on the economy and unemployment rate there.
The question of why the financial assistance given by the US was suddenly stopped is important. There may be some major reasons for this, such as America is worried about the democratic process in Bangladesh. Lack of transparency in electoral processes was harassing the US administration. The US was cautious about China’s increasing investment and impact in Bangladesh. America does not want Bangladesh to be completely in China’s diplomatic grip.
US First Policy of Trump Administration
The US Trump administration has always been emphasizing its ‘US First’ policy, in which foreign aid cuts are an important point. Due to this, many American agencies had complained of corruption and misuse of money in the ongoing projects in Bangladesh, which took a decision to stop the funding.
Impact on Bangladesh: unemployment and economic crisis
The biggest impact of American help stopping is on the youth and government institutions there. The International Center for Diarial Disease Research (ICDDR, B) has fired more than 1000 employees. The institution was operated with the help of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), but due to the funding, it had to remove its employees.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOS) crisis
More than 60 NGOs in Bangladesh depended on US financial aid. Now the financial crisis is getting deeper in front of them, due to which millions of people are facing danger of losing their jobs. Apart from American funding, companies from other Western countries are also reconsideration of their investment in Bangladesh. This can lead to more crisis in the coming months.
Also read: Why Nepal arrested two Indians amid stress from Bangladesh, know the reason