Dhaka: According to a top government NGO affairs official, USAID circumvented the traditional government official route to provide USD 29 million for the implementation of a contentious initiative aimed at bolstering Bangladesh’s political environment.

The NGO Affairs Bureau is a government agency that oversees the responsibility of NGOs to the state and supports their operations when they receive foreign aid and are registered under the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Ordinance 1978.

“Donald Trump claimed that our NGO Affairs Bureau had received around 29 million dollars, but we did not specify that sum. In an interview with ANI, Md. Anwar Hossain, Director General (in charge) of the NGO Affairs Bureau, said, “Because if they can tell which NGOs are involved, then specifically we can identify, but overall we can see that the amount of dollars is not yet spent for NGOs.”

He said, “I can not speak about this,” when asked whether the funding was granted by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) without going through the NGO Affairs Bureau.

Md. Anwar Hossain said that while the Bangladeshi NGO sector is not now experiencing a severe crisis as a result of the suspension of USAID financing, it would eventually have a negative impact on NGO funding.

“The many nations throughout the globe provide assistance to our NGOs. There may have been a decrease in foreign funds during the COVID-19 pandemic and the disaster in Turkey, but they were redirected to other countries and regions. I believe that the USAID suspension will have an impact, but they will look for other donors to help them recover,” Hossain stated.

In Bangladesh, there are 2,640 NGOs that are officially recognized and provide a variety of professions.

“USAID’s Rohingya initiative remains unabated. “Nearly 70 NGOs receive foreign donations based in the United States,” he claimed.

Speaking at the White House on Friday, US President Donald Trump criticized a number of USAID projects that were recently canceled due to suggestions made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Can you imagine you have a little firm?” Trump remarked, adding that “29 million USD to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh went to a firm that nobody ever heard of.” We get 29 million USD from the US government after you receive 10,000 here and 10,000 there. They had two employees at the company, and he replied, “I think they’re very happy and very rich.”

“They’ll be on the cover of a very good business magazine pretty soon for being great scammers,” he later said.

The United States has spent more than $8 billion to better the lives of Bangladeshis in the last 50 years, according to the US State Department.