USAID chief Samantha Power to visit India from July 25-27
Jul 23, 2022
Washington [US], July 23 : Amid the global food crisis, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) chief Samantha Power will be visiting India from July 25-27.
"Administrator Power will travel to India on July 25-27. The Administrator will meet with food security and climate experts, civil society, and government officials to discuss the global food security crisis, and the US-India development partnership," read a USAID press release.
During the visit, Power will underscore the United States' enduring partnership with the Government of India and the Indian people.
She will participate in meetings and events demonstrating US commitment to partnering with India, the world's largest democracy, as a global development leader in addressing some of the world's most pressing development challenges, such as addressing the global food security crisis, tackling the climate crisis, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and supporting countries in need, added USAID release.
The visit to India comes amid global food crisis due to Russia-Ukraine war.
Earlier, the USAID chief criticized China for not doing enough in a food crisis amid the Ukraine war that has led to a surge in global food prices and threatened global food security.
Power delivered an address on the growing global food security crisis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
In her speech titled "The Line Between Crisis and Catastrophe," Power said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, and that nation must increase their efforts to avert a famine there.
Power laid out the severity of the current food crisis, particularly in the Horn of Africa, outlined steps the United States is taking to address global hunger and malnutrition and emphasized the urgent need for additional action to prevent the crisis from getting much worse.
Slamming China, the US aid chief said that the second largest economy "in particular stands out for its absence" in humanitarian efforts in East Africa.
According to power, if China exported more food and fertilizer to the global market or to the World Food Program, it would "significantly relieve pressure on food and fertilizer prices and powerfully demonstrate the country's desire to be a global leader and a friend to the world's least developed economies."
"One country, in particular, stands out right now for its absence: the People's Republic of China. Even before the war in Ukraine began, Beijing's trade restrictions on fertilizer and hoarding of grain was inflating prices. While at the same time, the government offered little of the transparency into its stocks and products that might have soothed markets," she said in her speech.
