Obama Administration Plans to Give $56 Million in Aid to Libya

Charlie McKenna | June 16, 2016
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In an effort to promote stability in Libya, the Obama administration plans to increase aid to the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA).

Special envoy for Libya Jonathan Winer laid out the plan in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday. The State Department plans to reallocate $35 million in current funding already approved by Congress, and has requested an additional $20.5 million in the foreign aid budget for 2017.

At the hearing, Winer stated, “Our strategic interest in Libya is to support a unified, accountable government. […] At the center of our policy has been support for the creation of the GNA.”

The foreign aid budget proposes up to $7 million for “governance programs that will help develop democratic systems and processes.” Of that $7 million, $5 million will go to civil society groups and $2 million to anti-terrorist measures. Other funds go to support law enforcement, economic measures, nonproliferation, and related programs.

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