Bangladesh in Real trouble now, US stops aid to Yunus government, President Trump now plans to…

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a brief discussion about Bangladesh with newly-appointed Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio on 22 January.

New Delhi: Donald Trump, after taking oath as the President of the United States of America, has been taking a slew of important steps. In its latest decision, the US government has decided to stop all aid to the Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh government. The United States donor agency USAID has announced an immediate cessation or suspension of any work in Bangladesh under contracts, work orders, grants, cooperative agreements, or other assistance or procurement instruments. The bankrupt Bangladesh, which is already facing a huge economic crisis, will witness even greater challenges following this decision.

The USAID, in its letter on the funding suspension, cited US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, saying, “This letter is directing all USAID/Bangladesh implementing partners to immediately cease or suspend any work under your USAID/Bangladesh contract, work order, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assistance or acquisition instrument.”

Trump, just hours after taking office on 20 January, ordered a 90-day pause in US foreign development assistance pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy but the scope of the order was not immediately known.

Various project stakeholders, including US-funded NGOs in Bangladesh, were concerned about the impact of this order.

Jaishankar Meets Marco Rubio

It is important to note that the decision comes days after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a brief discussion about Bangladesh with newly-appointed Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio on 22 January.

In response to a question on whether the minority issue in Bangladesh was discussed during the meeting with the US state secretary, Jaishankar said, “Yes, we had a brief discussion on Bangladesh. I don’t think it’s appropriate that I get into more details.”