Washington: US President George Bush's proposed $2.9trillion budget for fiscal year 2008 seeks $20.3 billion for foreign assistancewith increases for Afghanistan and Pakistan, but a cut for India as it hasbecome a 'donor country'.

Seeking a 12 percent increase in fiscal 2008 starting Oct 1over the enacted 2006 fiscal, the proposal lists Israel, Egypt, Afghanistan,Pakistan, Sudan, Indonesia and Kosovo among the top recipients of US aid.

However, Israel and Egypt's assistance levels are beingreduced as stipulated under the 1978 Camp David agreement, and that manyprogrammes for India, which itself has become a donor country, would be cut,Randall Tobias, administrator of the US Agency for International Development(USAID) said Monday.

"A lot of the cuts that were made are cuts inprogrammes where we've really gotten to the point where India, forexample, is a country that has an economy that's growing by 8 percent. India has become a donor country.

"Indiais providing like $50 million, I think, in support for Afghanistan. And so Indiais in a position where they are taking on more of the burden for the problemsfacing India. We still have a major programme in India, but itis reduced in '08 from what it was in '06," Tobias said by way ofexplanation.

The United States has been "a leader inchampioning human dignity and human potential," and its commitment toglobal development is evidenced by its level of development assistance"nearly tripling from approximately $10 billion in 2000 to $28.5billion in 2005, " he said.

The 2008 budget request, which is subject to further actionby the US Congress, continues that commitment, but it does so in what webelieve is a much improved and much more strategic way," Tobias said.

The amount does not include funding for security andreconstruction efforts in Afghanistanand Iraq,which will fall under the Bush administration's separate proposed emergencysupplement funding for the global war on terrorism.

In South and Central Asia, there's a 6 percent increasehighly concentrated in states like Afghanistanand Pakistan, which are ofcritical importance to USnational security and are also among the very poorest nations in that region,Tobias said.

Afghanistan'sshare is $1.067 billion, up from $968 million, and largely focused onprogrammes that are dealing with poppy eradication, the building of alternativelivelihoods, the kinds of things that will build capacity in the ministries andthe units of both federal and local Government.

"Pakistangets 785 million, up from 707 million. And again, that's focused on a variety of activities that will bringabout police training, develop education programmes and health programmes and soforth, "Tobias said.

About 51 percent of the State Department and USAID'sresources now are concentrated in rebuilding and developing activities, Tobiassaid. The fiscal year 2008 budget request includes a 20 percent increase inresources for low and lower middle income countries.

Brad Higgins, assistant secretary of state for resourcemanagement and chief financial officer for the State Department, said anadditional $10.14 billion is being requested for State Department foreignoperations such as security, services and maintenance of its more than 260diplomatic missions around the world.