PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has re-opened an office in Suriname after 40 years with Washington underscoring the importance of its presence in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Speaking at the office’s official opening, Ambassador Robert Faucher said that it would support the US embassy here in its development work and that programs will be implemented in various areas, especially in the agricultural, energy, and private sectors.
He said USAID would continue working as an equal partner to deepen the relationship and promote cooperation between the two nations.
USAID/ESC Programme and Strategy Office Director Stephanie Mikulasek said that USAID partners with 11 regional countries, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat and the St. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat, to implement development programs.
She said that the Biden-Harris administration had renewed the US commitment to the Caribbean region and that new initiatives were announced during last year’s Summit of the Americas, which are now being rolled out under the US-Caribbean partnership to address climate challenges, food security, and energy cooperation.
While this marks the first time USAID has had a permanent presence here since 1982, the agency has nonetheless responded to the need of Suriname following several natural disasters, including humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of significant flooding in 2006, 2008, and 2013.
Mikulasek said USAID’s renewed presence in Suriname offers the opportunity to engage more deeply with the Surinamese partners in pursuing development objectives benefitting both nations and people.
“We are very pleased to be back,” she noted.
In welcoming back USAID to the country, Foreign Affairs Minister Albert Ramdin said there was continued cooperation in agriculture, healthcare, environment, investment, and incidental assistance during natural disasters.
“This was technical assistance. It helps us as a country to prepare ourselves to improve the programs we roll out to better the living conditions in the world and, in particular, in Suriname.
“Our country already has a good cooperation with USAID in terms of projects in the field of agriculture, public health, environment, and investments, but also with the floods,” said Ramdin, adding that USAID is one of the agencies in the Western Hemisphere with enormous potential “and Suriname will make excellent use of that.”
USAID is an independent United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign and development assistance. It supports low-income countries through programs in various areas, such as the well-being of young people and combating poverty.
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