USAID opens Belarus office in Vilnius

September 20, Pozirk. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has opened a Belarusian office in Vilnius.
USAID Assistant Administrator Erin Elizabeth McKee told the opening ceremony that support for Belarusians’ democratic aspirations will go on, the agency reported.
USAID started supporting them in 1999, and the cooperation continued through difficult moments, including in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 political crisis, she said.
In addition, the agency contributed to the boom of the Belarusian startup and IT sectors.
As long as Belarusian citizens are committed to democracy, we remain committed to them, McKee said.
US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara McDonald highlighted the long-standing partnership between Vilnius and Washington and thanked the Lithuanian government and people for permanently supporting Belarusian citizens and Ukraine in their struggle for sovereignty and freedom.
On September 20, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja received McKee in Vilnius, Cichanoŭskaja’s chief adviser Franak Viačorka told Pozirk.
She thanked USAID and the US government for backing Belarusian civil society and strategic dialogue between Belarusians and Americans, as well as for raising the Belarusian issue in the international arena.
The women discussed US assistance for independent Belarusian media, human rights activists, cultural projects, businesses and education programs.
The Belarusian opposition leader told McKee about the launch of the International Humanitarian Fund for Political Prisoners and invited the USA to join it.
USAID was forced to close its office in Minsk in 2021.

Polish visa centers to prioritize applications from Belarusian students
- Politics, SecurityBelarusian contingent taking part in CSTO exercisesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- SecurityMinsk, Moscow share position on threat assessment – ChreninThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- PoliticsForeign minister attacks “neocolonial brain drain” at non-aligned ministers’ meetingThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus to test-run digital rubel in mid-2026The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- SocietyBelarusian woman disappears in MyanmarThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics, SocietyInformation minister defends censorship, calls banned books “subversive”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- SocietyInvestigators link death toll in recent car crash to speeding, unbuckled seatbelts, poor lightingThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- EconomyReal income’s growth stalls at 10 percent in January-AugustThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsKGB brands six regime critics as terroristsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: sociologist accused of high treasonThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus envoy presents credentials to Bolivia's presidentThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsKyiv: Łukašenka adds Biełaruski Hajun detainees to "exchange pool"The material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyOfficial reports record growth in small business sector amid sanctionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsNausėda: Belarusian opposition still welcome in VilniusThe material is available only to POZIRK+