Canada’s Minister of Worldwide Improvement, Ahmed Hussen, unveiled $272.1 million in new funding on Sunday for overseas support initiatives in Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific area.
“Canada continues to fiercely strengthen our long-lasting friendship with Bangladesh and the broader Indo-Pacific area with our long-standing people-to-people ties,” Hussen mentioned in a press release. “By supporting weak communities’ healthcare providers, empowering girls and addressing local weather change, we’re making a brighter tomorrow for the worldwide neighborhood.”
The cash, to be spent alongside contributions from different overseas companions and donors, will present new funding for 14 completely different initiatives in Bangladesh and different nations within the Indo-Pacific area.
The federal Liberal authorities’s transfer highlights a dramatically completely different Canadian method to overseas improvement help in comparison with American Republican President Donald Trump’s authorities, which halted funding via the USA Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID).
Trump and his new authorities effectivity czar, businessman Elon Musk, froze U.S. overseas support for 90 days after he took energy, shutting down support packages all over the world and triggering furloughs of 1000’s of workers inside the federal government and amongst its contractors.
Trump and his Republican appointees view overseas support packages as a waste of taxpayers’ cash, arguing they help liberal political agendas. Their detractors say such spending boosts American standing on this planet, and counters overseas interference by different nations.
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American overseas support staff and supporters have challenged Trump’s strikes in court docket, saying the president exceeded his authorized and constitutional authority when he successfully dismantled a federal company whose spending was approved by the U.S. Congress.
Particulars concerning the completely different, multi-year initiatives Canada is funding may be found in this backgrounder from Global Affairs Canada.
Canada is supporting initiatives that can deal with gender equality, sexual and reproductive well being and rights for girls and women, together with improved entry to inclusive training and abilities coaching.
Different initiatives are designed to assist communities strengthen their resilience to local weather change, increase civic engagement and scale back poverty.
One mission was described as “Empowering Girls within the Nursing Sector.” It features a $6.3 million funding increase over three years to Canadian firm Cowater Worldwide, the federal government said.
The Canadian authorities support was personally introduced by Hessen and British Columbia Liberal Member of Parliament Parm Bains at a Vancouver occasion attended by leaders of the Bangladeshi neighborhood, simply weeks earlier than the Liberal authorities may name a spring election with a brand new chief.
The Bangladeshi-Canadian neighborhood now consists of greater than 100,000 folks, the federal authorities estimates.
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