US to close USAID overseas offices by end of September

The Trump administration will eliminate all USAID (United States Agency for International Development) overseas positions worldwide by 30 September, The Guardian writes, referring to a document obtained by the U.S. Department of State.

As noted, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the abolishment of the agency’s entire international workforce, transferring control of foreign assistance programs directly to the State Department.

The directive affects hundreds of USAID staff globally, including foreign service officers, contractors, and locally employed personnel across more than 100 countries. As previously reported, the EU intends to take the place of USAID in Third World countries, focusing on democracy-promoting projects.

On Feb. 3, the U.S. administration effectively suspended the activities of USAID, which had allocated significant funds to financing international organizations. On March 10, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was appointed acting head of USAID, announced that the government had suspended 83% of the agency’s programs after the audit. In return, the State Department will create a $2.9 billion A1OF fund, which, according to Rubio, will respond quickly to crises, proactively cooperate with key partners such as India and Jordan, support critical repatriation efforts, and counter strategic threats from near-equal competitors such as China.