LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his government is abolishing its international development department and will make overseas aid part of the foreign ministry.

Johnson told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Department for International Development will be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

He said aid and foreign policy “are one and the same endeavor.”

The move is likely to worry many in the foreign aid sector. Andrew Mitchell, who served as development secretary in a previous Conservative government, said abolishing the department “would destroy one of the most effective and respected engines of international development anywhere in the world.”

When he ran for election last year, Johnson committed his government to meeting the United Nations' target of spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on foreign aid.