(TibetanReview.net, Mar20’25) – The Trump administration’s decision to cancel 83% of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs across the world has severely dented the annual budget of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) which is reportedly 40-50% dependent on US aid. In light of this development, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reassured continued US support for the Tibetan people in a letter he wrote to the CTA’s executive head, Sikyong Penpa Tsering, on Mar 10, said the CTA on its Tibet.net website Mar 19.
The letter reaffirmed the United States’ steadfast commitment to advocating for the human rights of Tibetans and supporting Tibetans to exercise fundamental freedoms without fear of persecution and to live lives in peace and dignity, said the CTA statement.
Calling the letter historic – as it was addressed directly to the Sikyong of the CTA – the statement said the letter signifies a deep, ongoing recognition of the Tibetan people’s struggle. It further strengthens the enduring bond between the Tibetan community and the US government.
Earlier, on Mar 1, Rubio extended his Losar greetings via his official X platform (formerly Twitter) to the Tibetan people, reaffirming firm commitment to their cause. He said: “Losar Tashi Delek to all those around the world celebrating Tibetan New Year. Today, we celebrate the strength and perseverance of the Tibetan community worldwide and reaffirm our commitment to the preservation of Tibetans’ distinct cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage.”
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Meanwhile, Sikyong Penpa Tsering has told the ongoing budget session of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile – which began on Mar 17 – that the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC, and the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) as well as the Tibet Fund were continuing to press for securing necessary assistance, vital to the preservation of Tibetan culture, language, and religious heritage.
For decades, the United States has been one of the Tibetan people’s staunchest friends. There is bipartisan agreement that the Tibetan people deserve self-determination, democracy, and the right to religious freedom. Our laws, including the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, the Tibet Policy and Support Act of 2020, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, the Resolve Tibet Act and numerous Congressional appropriations reflect that, said the ICT (savetibet.org) Mar 19.
It said America’s fiscal support to Tibetans fits into the wider US national security interests and also directly impacts its interests, conditions spelled out by the Trump administration for granting of US aid. Its stoppage will erode a successful investment that is combatting China’s malign influence and its further ambitions throughout the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
ICT also said: “Tibet is the source of Asia’s major rivers which sustain the lives of 1.8 billion people in downstream nations. China’s dams and other infrastructure expansion threatens broad swaths of South and Southeast Asia, livelihoods of communities there, and by extension, US economic and trade relationships in the Indo-Pacific.”
Almost half of the funds from the US for Tibetan programs and projects used to be routed through the USAID, according to the timesofindia.com Mar 20. Only in November last year, USAID launched a new five-year program, “Strengthening economic, social, and cultural resilience of Tibetan communities in South Asia,” estimated at Rs 200 crore, which now stands frozen.