US promises to continue aid to Bolivia
25/7/2008 16:39
The United States will continue to provide aid to Bolivia, visiting US
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon said
yesterday, according to reports from La Paz, Bolivia's administrative
capital.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) was expelled
from the South American country in June.
The US government is committed to
constructing a lasting relation based on shared interests and values, said
Shannon.
"The importance of my visit and of the dialogue with President Evo
Morales and with the members of the government is to seek a way of
understanding," he said.
"We have a very good understanding of the
preoccupations of Bolivia and the common interests we have," Shannon said at a
press conference in Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia.
Shannon, who arrived in
Bolivia Tuesday in a bid to mend bilateral ties, refuted allegations against the
US aid group after a meeting with President Morales Wednesday morning.
He
said USAID, which was accused of supporting Bolivia's opposition parties under
the guise of aiding local farmers, is not a politically motivated group and its
only aim is to help eradicate poverty and social inequality.
Ties between the
two countries have been strained since late June, when President Morales
expressed support for the expulsion of USAID by farmers in the coca-growing
Chapare region of central Bolivia.
Xinhua
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