The United States pledged on Friday, February 11, to grant Burundi financial assistance of $400 million to support the efforts of the President, Evariste Ndayishimiyein terms of development.
These funds will be invested in agriculture, health, education, good governancethe environment and the private sector, the Burundian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The US financial aid is announced nearly two months following the lifting of Washington’s sanctions once morest Burundi. On November 18, 2021, the US President, Joe Bidenhad announced the “lifting of the state of emergency concerning the situation in Burundi”, as well as the end of the “targeted sanctions” which targeted four former high-ranking officers of the army and the police involved in violence in 2015 According to the White House, the situation that gave rise to the declaration of a national state of emergency “has improved significantly following the transfer of power following the 2020 election and the continuation of reforms by the new president, Evariste Ndayishimiye».
The announcement of this financial support from the United States comes just a few days following the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on Gitega (capital of Burundi) by theEuropean Union since 2016. With overall aid of 430 million euros for the period 2015-2020, Brussels was Burundi’s leading donor.
