Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee said it was time for Europe to act and ‘lead the world’, as US President Donald Trump has hampered almost all the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Banerjee said Trump is ready to say that Europe has surrendered its leadership in the world. In an interview with NDTV World on Saturday, Banerjee talked about a recent article in the Financial Times, in which he, along with fellow Nobel Prize winner and wife Esther Duflo, argued that the world did not need the US to be the sole source of aid fund. They wrote in the article: “The rest of the world must take the lead, showing the ability to raise and spend help with aid money.” During the latest interview, Banerjee was asked where he intended to get this money. He began to say that “it is a wonderful moment for Europe to walk to the board.” However, Banerjee said he believes: “President Trump is ready to say that Europe has in some ways surrendered his leadership in the world.” He told NDTV World: “It’s not a lot of initiatives to lead the world. I think it’s a moment to lead the world … The money of help is still a fall in even – Europe’s economy is greater than the US” and it’s not a huge amount of money. ” If they have them [Europe] really want to get leadership, it’s a way to get leadership, “Abhijit Banerjee said. USAID cuts In February this year, the Trump administration announced significant cuts to USAID’s foreign aid contracts, eliminating more than 90 percent of them, which amounts to $ 54 billion. The nutrition of the hungry. First published: 12 Apr 2025, 12:06 PM IST
Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee over USAID cuts: ‘Trump is right, Europe has surrendered global leadership’ | Mint
