The United States dedicated an additional $441 million to expand partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region for energy, infrastructure, trade and other economic development initiatives, Deputy US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Bonnie Glick said
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th November, 2019) The United States dedicated an additional $441 million to expand partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region for energy, infrastructure, trade and other economic development initiatives, Deputy US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Bonnie Glick said.
"These new programs support the US government's Indo-Pacific Strategy, the goals of which are to create a region that is peaceful and secure, and in which countries are sovereign [and] to promote economic growth led by the private sector," a press release explaining the aid increase said.
Glick announced the $441-million initiative while participating in the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, with other Trump administration officials and representatives from the private sector.
The aid package includes $200 million for the Asian Development Bank to increase access to energy, promote trade and the diversification of energy sources and security, the release said.
The aid package also includes US participation with Japan, Australia and New Zealand in a joint effort to raise electrification in Papua New Guinea from 13 percent to 70 percent by the year 2030, the release added.
Another project aims to develop solar and hydroelectric power in Laos and eventually link the nation's power grid with Vietnam with a new high-voltage electricity grid.
The US initiative was announced on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Bangkok.
