US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the Trump administration has fundamentally reshaped US foreign assistance policy, replacing what it sees as dependency-driven aid programmes with a strategy centred on trade, investment and partnerships that directly advance American interests.

In prepared testimony obtained by IANS ahead of a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs, Rubio argues that foreign assistance should serve as an instrument of statecraft rather than an open-ended commitment disconnected from US national priorities.