Administrator Samantha Power began her third day at the UN General Assembly High-Level Week with a meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille. They discussed USAID's ongoing efforts to support the people of Haiti and the transitional government. Administrator Power underscored USAID's strong commitment to partnerships focused on building a more stable and prosperous Haiti. The Administrator and the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of support for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. Administrator Power and Prime Minister Conille also emphasized the need for timely renewal of HOPE/HELP trade preferences.
Administrator Power co-chaired a roundtable discussion with UK Development Minister Anneliese Dodds on Houthi detentions of UN, NGO, and diplomatic staff in Yemen. Participants included high-level officials from the UN and a range of governments. Participants emphasized their shared resolve to press for the immediate release of the detainees using all diplomatic channels, reassess programming, and reaffirm their commitment to supporting the people of Yemen.
Administrator Power met with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh's Interim Government. They discussed the strong support of the U.S. for the people of Bangladesh, including through the personal engagement of President Biden and the recent signing of a more than $200 million development agreement with the Interim Government. Administrator Power and Chief Advisor Yunus discussed labor rights and reforms, and Administrator Power reaffirmed USAID's commitment to offering a range of support in advancing development, strengthening governance, expanding trade, and creating greater opportunities at a critical moment in Bangladesh.
At USAID's flagship Democracy Delivers event, Administrator Power announced a mobilization of $517 million, including $73 million through USAID and the Department of State, in support of countries experiencing democratic openings. Administrator Power announced that Guatemala will join the Agency's Democracy Delivers Initiative, which now supports Armenia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Guatemala, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Nepal, Tanzania, and Zambia. Leaders from these countries joined the event to highlight their countries' democratic progress and to welcome new investments and collaborations furthering democratic resilience. Like-minded government partners committed to elevate attention to democratic openings around the world, and philanthropic partners announced new commitments to support democratic development across the Democracy Delivers cohort of countries.
