April 22, 2021
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on April 21, 2021 that the Biden administration expects to send around $300 million as an extra civilian aid to Afghanistan this year. This aid is meant to promote economic projects, anti-drug programs, health and education, and women’s empowerment.
“President Biden was clear that while the United States will withdraw military forces from Afghanistan, our support for the country will continue,” Blinken said in a statement.
He further added that “As part of our commitment to invest in and support the Afghan people, we are working with Congress to provide nearly $300 million in additional civilian assistance for Afghanistan in 2021 from both the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development,”
The assistance was declared at the quadrennial donors’ conference in November 2020 as possibly being available at a future date, is being made available now to show the US’ enduring support for the Afghan people.
The US Department of State issued a statement that “The funding will be targeted at sustaining and building on the gains of the past 20 years by improving access to essential services for Afghan citizens, promoting economic growth, fighting corruption and the narcotics trade, improving health and education service delivery, supporting women’s empowerment, enhancing conflict resolution mechanisms, and bolstering Afghan civil society and independent media,”
The statement further stated that as the United States initiates withdrawing their troops, it will use its civilian and economic support to achieve a just and durable peace for Afghanistan and a brighter future for the Afghan people.
This comes as Biden announced that all troops will leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11, ending the longest war in US history.
© Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
