The videoconference marked the end of USAID's 63-year run as an independent agency before its absorption into the State Department.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has officially closed its doors after President Donald Trump gradually dismantled the agency over its allegedly wasteful spending. More than 80% of all the agency's programmes were cancelled as of March, and on Tuesday the remainder were formally absorbed by the state department.