Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 26 2005

USAID to Cut Allocations To Azerbaijan

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) plans to allocate
less funds to Azerbaijan than Georgia and Armenia in 2005, the
National NGO Forum president Azay Guliyev told journalists.

USAID will disburse $48 million to Georgia, $43 million to Armenia
and $18 million to Azerbaijan this year, Guliyev said.

`Such distribution of allocations is unfair, considering that
Azerbaijan’s population and territory are greater and the country has
over a million refugees and displaced persons.’

Guliyev said that grants allocated by international donor
organizations are the only source of funds for local NGOs. He also
noted that several NGOs have suspended their activity due to the
large number of such organizations, increasing competition among them
in grant projects and dwindling donor programs.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress