Biden uses $130M in frozen Egypt aid to help Pacific Islands
By MATTHEW LEE and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will pay for $130 million in new climate initiatives for Pacific Island nations by reallocating money that was originally earmarked for Egypt’s military assistance. The money was withheld from Cairo because of concerns over human rights abuses.
The Associated Press obtained a State Department memo detailing the decision to reprogram the money allotted for Egypt for the Pacific Islands.
President Joe Biden announced a plan Thursday to spend $810 million — including $130 million for climate resilience programming — to assist the Pacific Islands as he met with more than a dozen leaders from the region.