CAIRO: The Acting Mission Director for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) John Groarke refuted claims that American aid to Egypt is mainly geared towards the Christian minority. Speaking on an embassy web chat where he received questions from the public, Groarke dismissed newspaper reports which alleged that the majority of the aid was directed at Christian NGOs, saying: "Those reports simply were not true. Over the past 30 years, USAID has made significant contributions to support the Egyptian government's efforts to improve the quality of life of all Egyptians - all people from all religions. However, Groarke did concede that the secularist nature of funding did include certain religious beneficiaries in the interest of impartiality. "Organizations that receive funding from USAID must provide services on the basis of neutral, secular criteria that do not consider religious beliefs. As such, assistance must be made available to both religious and secular beneficiaries on a non-discriminatory basis, he said. Groarke, acting mission director since January 2007, stressed that the direction of funding is decided by agreement with the Egyptian government. In response to Daily News Egypt queries on the corruption that is rife within the government, the director said that "USAID works with the Egyptian government and NGOs to reinforce the levels of integrity within government institutions. And the agency supports the consistent efforts to develop the judicial system . and supporting procedures that guarantee the rights of women. When asked whether further American assistance hinges on improvements in Egypt's human rights record, Groarke said, "There are no conditions on US economic assistance to Egypt. Many Americans, however, care deeply about human rights. USAID works with Egyptians to improve human rights in Egypt and we look forward to continuing our assistance in the future. Groarke did admit that American economic assistance to Egypt was depreciating by five percent a year until 2009, subject to an agreement with the government made in 1999. The aim was to focus instead on areas of investment and trade. The amount of economic assistance should annually decrease to become $400 million by 2009. At that time, a new agreement would be reached on the future of the aid, Groarke said. He did not comment on queries about the recent developments concerning military aid to Egypt, stating it was not under his jurisdiction. "I manage the US Economic assistance program in Egypt, not the military assistance program, therefore, I am not the right person to respond to these questions, Groarke said. Groarke has been in Egypt since March 2006, where he was the Deputy Mission Director before assuming his current post. He was previously the USAID Deputy Mission Director in Iraq.
