Epress.am News from Armenia
US President Barack Obama has called for a 19% reduction in economic aid to Armenia in the last budget request of his term, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reports.
Obama has proposed $27,219,000 in Economic Support Fund (ESF) aid for Armenia in his Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) budget, which is nearly $12,781,000, or 32%, less than the $40,000,000 approved by Congress for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12). His ESF figures for FY13, however, do not include $2,824,000 in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement assistance and 2,500,000 in Global Health Programs (USAID), both categories that were formerly included under the ESF heading. Adding these two line items to the $27,219,000 ESF proposal, brings the economic aid total to Armenia to $32,543,000, which is a sharp 19% cut, measured from FY12 to FY13.
Overall, the proposal actually sees Armenia receiving more than double in aid than Azerbaijan (compare $27,219,000 to Armenia with $11,029,000 to Azerbaijan in Economic Support Fund aid).
ANCA, however, sees the issue differently: “We are saddened, but not surprised to see that President Obama has once again sought to cut economic aid to Armenia. His Administration has proposed reductions in assistance to Armenia — including this year’s sharp 19% cut — despite the devastating economic impact of dual Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades, and Yerevan’s broad support for US-led missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, and her cooperation on a broad-range of Washington-inspired regional initiatives — including the reckless Turkey-Armenia Protocols,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Sadly, President Obama has chosen to neither keep his commitment to maintain assistance to Armenia, nor taken any meaningful steps to honor his pledge to foster Armenia’s growth and development through expanded trade.”
Regarding military assistance, the Administration’s proposed budget does maintain parity in Foreign Military Finance (FMF) and International Military Education and Training (IMET) to Armenia and Azerbaijan, requesting $2.7 million in FMF and $600,000 for IMET for each country.
The Administration’s budget does not include any figures for aid to Nagorno Karabakh, although, over the past several years USAID has allocated $2,000,000 annually for this purpose. This level of Nagorno Karabakh funding is considerably less than the intent expressed by Congress over the course of many years, reflecting a pattern of under-spending that has left many developmental and confidence-building needs unmet, ANCA notes.
The Obama Administration, in addition to consistently seeking reduced aid appropriations for Armenia, has not invited Armenia to submit a second Millennium Challenge Corporation proposal for poverty-reduction programs, nor has it taken any meaningful steps to promote bilateral economic relations, such as negotiations toward a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, a Double Tax Treaty, or a Free Trade Agreement. During his campaign for the Presidency, Senator Barack Obama promised several times in writing to maintain aid and expand trade with Armenia.