Trump Stopped Foreign Aid, 7 US Funded Nepal Projects Postponed

ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/binaya_photography

JAKARTA - Nepal said seven United States-funded projects were postponed after President Donald Trump suspended foreign development assistance.

President Donald Trump ordered the halt to US foreign development assistance for 90 days when he returned to office at the White House.

Nepal's Ministry of Finance said projects in the fields of education, health, agriculture, and statistics funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented under the government's budget had been suspended for 90 days.

"The other three projects regarding strengthening provincial and regional governments, biodiversity and climate that are still being designed have also been postponed for three months," he said.

"The money for the project being designed has not been received because the agreement for the program has not been signed," the Nepalese ministry said in a statement.

However, they did not provide details of the funds for these projects.

Last week, the government said two major infrastructure projects funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government aid agency, for the construction of power transmission lines and road repair projects had been halted for 90 days after Trump's order.

Authorities did not provide details on how a money-deficient country, including one of the world's poorest countries, would fund these projects if Trump did not continue his assistance.