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00:00 [no audio]
00:05 [indistinct chatter]
00:10 -So nice to see you. -How are you?
00:12 -How are you? -Very good to see you.
00:14 Great to be over here today.
00:15 [indistinct chatter]
00:19 [indistinct chatter]
00:27 [indistinct chatter]
00:38 [indistinct chatter]
00:46 A couple of years ago, as we faced an almost perfect storm of crises
00:50 that were having a huge effect on food security around the world,
00:53 the combination of climate change, of COVID, and then conflict,
00:57 including Russia's aggression against Ukraine,
00:59 we were seeing the devastating impact that was having.
01:01 And of course, when you've got that kind of crisis,
01:04 you want to jump in and do everything you possibly can
01:07 on an emergency basis to help people,
01:09 and that's exactly what the United States did,
01:11 providing billions of dollars in additional assistance to countries in need.
01:15 We're by far the number one donor to the World Food Program.
01:19 We are honored as well to be one of the closest partners to the African Development Bank.
01:24 [indistinct chatter]
01:29 But in meeting with partners from around Africa,
01:32 and particularly my own colleagues among foreign ministers,
01:37 what really struck me in listening to them was that as appreciative as they were
01:42 for the emergency assistance that we were providing,
01:45 what they really wanted and wanted us to focus on
01:48 were making investments in sustainable African capacity.
01:52 [indistinct chatter]
01:57 You've just seen today the extraordinary work that's being done
02:00 to adapt rice in the strongest possible way.
02:04 But we also believe that along with rice,
02:06 there are other traditional crops in Africa that are remarkably nutritious.
02:12 In other words, they don't just bring a caloric benefit,
02:14 they bring real nutrition with them, as you're doing with the rice,
02:18 that can be adapted to be climate resilient
02:21 so that they can stand up to the extreme events and weather patterns
02:26 that are afflicting crops around the world,
02:29 and that will appeal to people here in Africa.
02:32 [indistinct chatter]