Microsoft founder Bill Gates has urged US President Donald Trump to continue providing foreign aid through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), reports NBC, to which Gates gave an interview.

On February 2, the head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), businessman Elon Musk, called USAID a “criminal organization” that should “die.”

And on Monday, Musk said that Trump had agreed to shut down USAID.

The DOGE head added that they have already begun the process of closing the agency.

"Gates...said he met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to advocate for continuing foreign aid disbursements from the U.S. Agency for International Development," NBC reports.

The Microsoft founder noted that it is still unclear what kind of foreign aid they will continue to provide countries.

He added that it would be difficult for the United States to recreate something like USAID.

At the same time, the founder of Microsoft Corporation said that he had not met with Musk, who has initiated the closure of this agency.