Biden uses $130M in frozen Egypt aid to help Pacific Islands

1/10/2022 7:44

        The Biden administration will pay for $130 million in new climate initiatives for Pacific Island nations by reallocating money that had originally been earmarked for military assistance for Egypt but withheld because of concerns over human rights abuses.
        
        The State Department said it planned to reprogram money allotted for Egypt to pay for the Pacific Islands in a Sept. 29 memo to Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional leaders that was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.
        
        President Joe Biden announced a plan Thursday for the U.S. to spend $810 million over the next decade — including $130 million for climate resilience programming — to assist the islands as he met with more than a dozen leaders from the region at the U.S.-Pacific Island Summit. The administration is looking to put greater focus on the Pacific Islands amid heightened concern about China’s growing military and economic influence in the region.