Kerry makes Tamilians happy, India unhappy
This cut in aid to Lanka comes after a resolution against Lanka in UN Human Rights Council last month. After sponsoring the resolution that was adopted the Council, the US had told Lanka that it must take meaningful action on reconciliation and accountability in order to move forward.
Kerry had said then that the vote in the Council encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to continue on the path toward lasting peace and prosperity following decades of civil war and instability.
Kerry
noted
that
while
some
important
progress
has
been
made
in
Sri
Lanka,
there
is
much
work
still
to
be
done.
Kerry
had
said
last
month
that
the
United
States
stands
ready
to
assist
Sri
Lanka
and
looks
looks
forward
to
continuing
its
engagement
with
the
Government
of
Sri
Lanka
and
strengthening
its
friendship
with
the
Sri
Lankan
people.
However,
the
cut
in
aid,
believed
to
be
the
highest
drop
for
any
South
Asian
country
makes
it
clear
that
the
US
is
still
not
happy
with
the
progress
made
by
Lanka
on
rights
issue.
While
the
actual
US
development
assistance
to
Sri
Lanka
in
2012
was
$
8
million,
Kerry
has
proposed
about
USD
6
million
for
2014.
Aid to India goes below 100 million
Meanwhile, the aid to India has also been cut on a positive note that the relations between US and India have been changing from a traditional "donor-recipient" relationship to a "strategic partnership". The cut in Indian aid is almost 16 percent and a continuation of the trend that has emerged over the past few years.
In 2010, the United States aid to India was $ 126.7 million, which drooped to $ 121.6 million in 2011 and $ 108 million in 2012 and was proposed to $ 98.3 million in the current fiscal of 2013, which ends on September 30.
"That (drop in US aid to India this year) reflects the ongoing transition we had under way from the more traditional donor-recipient kind of relationship to much more of a strategic partnership," a state department official said.
The
largest
portion
of
US
aid
is
slated
for
the
health
sector.
Overall
the
State
Department
budget
request
for
FY-2014
was
$
47.8
billion,
which
is
a
six
per
cent
cut
from
the
previous
FY-2012
of
actual
spending.