NEW DELHI: Under the Joe Biden administration, the United States has spent $1.89 billion on development aid to Bangladesh over the past four years, primarily through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), making Bangladesh the largest recipient of American assistance in South Asia, according to the US government data analysed by TNIE.
Among 15 countries in South and Central Asia, Bangladesh ranks second, following Afghanistan, which received $4.82 billion due to the US invasion and long military presence in the country.
Most of the funds are spent in Bangladesh under the head of emergency response, followed by agriculture, government and civil society.
Bangladesh received a whopping $91 million under the Government and Civil Society (GCS) head. Major funds under the same head were spent in Bangladesh’s 2024 election and the pre-election years.
Curiously, under the GCS head, funds for Democratic Participation and Civil Society, Media and Flow of Information, and Legislative and Political Parties have been consistently increased over the years. The US agencies spent the majority of funds in the election year 2024.
However, the data doesn’t specify who had received these funds. Under the head of Democratic Participation and Civil Society, the funds allocated in 2021 were $1.8m, which increased to $2.1m in 2022, further increased to $3.5m in 2023, and shot up to $7.5m in 2024.
Similarly, under the head of Media and Free Flow of Information head, the funds increased from over half a million dollars to $7.4m in 2024. Meanwhile, there were no funds allocated in 2023. The US has funded $6.8m for the 2023 and 2024 elections. Meanwhile, it also funded the Bangladesh political parties with $3.1m in 2024 and $1.7m in 2021.
Although some reports cited leaders from the now ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, claiming that the US attempted to influence the outcome in Bangladesh, the US has consistently denied these allegations.
“We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumours that the United States government was involved in these events is simply false,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing when asked about reported claims of US involvement soon after the charges were made last year.
President Trump denied any role of the US deep state in the developments in Bangladesh, whose ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, took shelter in India. “There was no role of our deep state. This is something that the Prime Minister has been working on for hundreds of years. I have been reading about it. I will leave Bangladesh to the Prime Minister,” President Trump said.
The year-wise breakdown of the total funds Bangladesh received from US foreign assistance shows that the country received the highest in the Covid-19 year.