THE United States today announced US$225 million (RM1.05 billion) in investments to support emerging democracies in the face of a rise in autocracies around the world.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Samantha Power were set to announce the assistance at an event today on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

A major part of the package would be US$110 million in private-sector projects for Nepal, where the political system has been stabilising since a peace deal in 2006 ended a civil war claiming more than 17,000 lives.

The assistance to Nepal, secured by the US International Development Finance Corporation, which leads development efforts through private investors, would include support for small businesses and sustainable transportation in the Himalayan nation.

The assistance would involve US$145 million in Washington funding that featured support for job creation as well as accountable public finances and other areas seen as key to democracy.

The package included grants, including from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, which would support civil society groups, rural electricity and climate projects in countries including Moldova, Tanzania and Zambia.

“The United States is dedicated to ensuring that democracy delivers for all,” said USAID in a statement.

The assistance aims to “deliver essential services and bring about tangible progress for citizens in countries experiencing democratic openings”, it said.

Blinken and Power launched the “Democracy Delivers” project last year as the Ukraine war raised alarm democracies were under threat from authoritarian states such as Russia and China.

Several nascent democracies had suffered major setbacks, with the military in Niger sacking the elected government in July and armed forces in 2021 pushing aside civilian leaders in Sudan, which has plunged into war between duelling generals. – AFP, September 20, 2023.