USA to Provide $202.25m Grant to Bangladesh

The United States will provide a grant of $202.25 million to Bangladesh, focusing on three key sectors: good governance, social and economic opportunities, and resilience.

On Sunday, 15th September, Bangladesh and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed the 6th amendment to the "Development Objective Grant Agreement (DOAG)" at the State Guest House Padma.

AKM Shahabuddin, Additional Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Reed J. Aeschliman, USAID Mission Director, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective parties, according to BSS reports.

Present at the signing ceremony were Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, US Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the Treasury Department Brent Neiman, and US State Department Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Donald Lu, among others.

A new DOAG was initially signed between Bangladesh and USAID on 27th September 2021, for the period 2021-2026. Under this agreement, USAID committed to contributing a total of $954 million. So far, up to the 5th amendment, $425 million has been provided to Bangladesh.

The USA has been a trusted development partner of Bangladesh since 1972. Under the "Economic, Technical, and Related Assistance" umbrella agreement, signed in 1974, the US has contributed over $8 billion to various sectors including democracy and governance, food security, health and education, and global climate change.

Much of the development aid from the USA is channelled through USAID, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other governmental and non-governmental organisations.