U.S. delegation in Eritrea to discuss food aid

By Ed Harris

ASMARA (Reuters) – A U.S. government team has arrived in
Eritrea for talks on food aid following Eritrea’s request that
Washington’s main development agency stop working in the Red
Sea state, U.S. officials said on Monday

The delegation includes Donald Yamamoto, deputy assistant
secretary for African affairs at the State Department, and
senior officials from U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), said the official.

“Part of the discussion will be how we deal with the food
aid situation and the modalities for the future,” a U.S.
embassy official said.

On Friday, U.S. ambassador Scott DeLisi told a public
meeting Eritrea had asked USAID to stop its operations here,
raising concerns that food aid to Eritrea — one of the most
food aid dependent countries in the world — could be affected.

DeLisi said without elaborating that the Eritrean
government had told USAID it was uncomfortable with the
agency’s activities.

The United States is the largest donor of food aid to
Eritrea, providing a total 774,679 tons of food over the past
five years, according to a recent U.S. embassy report.

In June, the U.S. government announced a further donation
of 200,000 tons bringing its total donation to 353,905 tons for
2005, more than the 342,000 tonnes of food aid needed this
year.

Eritrean government and aid officials are hoping for a
better harvest this year, following good seasonal rains and the
cultivation of 550,000 hectares (1.36 million acres) — 23
percent more than 2004.

“One of the consequences of the Eritrean government’s
request might be that other donors have to be more on the ball
(alert) if food aid gaps arise,” said one Western diplomat.

“I don’t see how any other donor could supply food aid to
the same degree,” said another.

“REASONABLY CONFIDENT”

U.S. food aid to Eritrea comes from USAID and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and is distributed by the United
Nations’ World Food Program (WFP), non-governmental
organizations (NGO), and the Eritrean government.

“We are reasonably confident that donations to WFP will not
be affected in the short to medium term,” said Jean-Pierre
Cebron, WFP Country Director in Eritrea.

Meanwhile NGOs are still waiting to see the practical
implications of a May 11 proclamation governing their work.

The proclamation requires international NGOs to register on
an annual basis, have a minimum $2 million at their disposal in
Eritrea, and pay tax on imports of items for relief aid,
including food.

“We simply do not know what is going to happen,” said one
aid worker. “We are advocating to continue humanitarian
operations, but are waiting for decisions from the U.S. and
Eritrean governments,” he said.