US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) is met on the tarmac at Norman Manley International Airport by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith (right) as he arrived Wednesday for an official visit to Jamaica. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)
US not a global charity — Rubio
Secretary of state says aid must align with America’s foreign policy
WEEKS after several Jamaican non-governmental organisations were left in limbo with their major source of funding cut following the decision by the Trump Administration to shutter United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that this signalled a reset in America’s foreign aid policy.
Rubio, who was on an official visit to Jamaica on Wednesday, during which he held bilateral talks with Government officials, said one of the reasons he wanted to visit the island was to highlight President Donald Trump’s vision for foreign aid.
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“The United States is not getting out of the aid business, we are going to be providing foreign aid. The difference is, we want to provide foreign aid in a way that is strategically aligned with our foreign policy priorities and the priorities of our host countries and our nation states that we are partners with,” Rubio said at a media briefing after the talks at Jamaica House.
“And in essence, how that would work, how it has worked in the past, is USAID, or some other entity, would come into a country and say, ‘This is what we think you need,’ and then they go out an hire a NGO — that maybe are the ones that convinced them that is what you need — and they come in to your country and do a bunch of things.
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“Some of these programmes are fine, they are nice things, other times not so much,” added Rubio.
He told the media briefing that with the reset the US Embassy will be in dialogue with the host government to determine what its needs are.
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“And we [will] provide assistance geared towards the needs of nation states that are hosting us and that we are partnering with. At the end, our partner… is the host government who have a clear vision for the future, and to the extent that our foreign aid can be helpful, it is in furtherance of what the people of your country have elected you to carry out,” declared Rubio.
He argued the US foreign aid should be geared for opportunities to improve skills training, opportunities to attract investment and businesses, and opportunities to expand US domestic intelligence capabilities.
This is in sharp contrast to USAID, which focused on gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, marginalised groups including members of the LGBTQ community, education, health and other areas.
“We are going to have foreign aid that is aligned to our foreign policy and our foreign policy is going to be aligned to our mutually shared interest with the partners that we have all over the world,” declared Rubio.
“And I can tell you, Jamaica is an incredible partner to the United States, it’s very cooperative on a number of fronts, and we will continue to work together, and we are going to work closer than we have ever worked before because we are going to have US programmes for foreign aid which are going to be aligned with the vision that you have elected your leaders to carry out for your country,” added Rubio.
Responding to a question later, Rubio underscored that the US is not getting rid of foreign aid but is restructuring how it is done.
“When you restructure there is some disruption, but it has to happen,” said Rubio in an obvious reference to the more than 5,000 USAID employees who have been fired or laid off.
“I recognise that there is disruption involved when you make reform and you make change, but it is necessary because our foreign policy and our foreign aid have to be aligned. Foreign aid is an instrument of foreign policy. It is not global charity,” said Rubio.
He argued that Jamaica is not asking for charity but for development assistance so that the country can become stronger in its security needs and other things of this nature.
