• Foreign Ministry liaising with SL and US Embassies
• White House states $ 7.9 m spent on ‘ridiculous’ project to teach SL journos how to avoid 'binary-gendered language’
• US Embassy special notice notice to visa applicants 

Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa vowed that the Government will continue United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded projects in Sri Lanka with alternative sources of funding.

On the first day of his second term in office, United States (US) President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order freezing foreign aid, including USAID funds, for at least 90 days, saying that such overseas spending does not represent value for money for American taxpayers.

The US President Donald Trump’s administration announced that all USAID-directly-hired personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally with effect from today (7). 

The Official Rapid Response account of the Trump 47 White House posted that a ‘ridiculous’ project for which American taxpayers money had been spent on by the USAID was $ 7.9 million to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid 'binary-gendered language’.

Responding to a question raised by a journalist during the Cabinet press conference, Minister Dr. Jayatissa noted: “If our Government had made this decision, I could have responded. Let’s see how this works out for us. We will have to find alternatives if they withdraw foreign aid. Sri Lanka does not operate on the funds received from USAID. It is good if they can grant funds to us. However, if not, we will continue these beneficial projects through the funds obtained through other sources.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it is coordinating with the Sri Lankan Embassy in the US and the US Embassy in Sri Lanka regarding the US Government’s decision to freeze USAID funds. When queried by The Daily Morning as to whether the Government would move for any negotiation with the US on the matter, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra said that there is still no proper clarity on the matter. “This is a transitional period. Even though they (the US) make decisions, there will be issues regarding the extent to which they can successfully implement them. Therefore, we will have to wait and see.” He also said that the Government, particularly the ministry, is coordinating with both the Sri Lankan Embassy in the US and the US Embassy in Sri Lanka regarding the matter. “They (the Embassies) have not been informed much about these decisions. This is still new. We will act according to future developments.”

Against this backdrop, US officials revealed that USAID will be merged with the State Department and will have significant cuts in the workforce, but will remain a humanitarian aid entity.

Meanwhile, USAID announced on Wednesday (5) that all USAID-directly-hired personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally with effect from today, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs. The notice further stated that the agency is working with the State Department on a plan to arrange and pay for USAID personnel stationed abroad to return to the US within 30 days.

USAID has spent billions of Dollars on the development of agriculture, health, education, business development, trade, human rights, and good governance in Sri Lanka during the past decades.

Elsewhere, the US Embassy in Colombo has issued a special notice to Sri Lankan visa applicants to the US. Accordingly, it has been informed that in order to ensure that all applicants can track their visa package and to improve efficiency, all visa-related document submissions and collections must be done through the VFS courier, effective from tomorrow (8). Accordingly, the Embassy announced that it will no longer accept direct submissions or collections. Additionally, the Embassy stated that starting from tomorrow, applicants can also visit the following website for details on premium delivery services and payment options: https://ustraveldocs.com/lk/en/nonimmigrant-visa/.