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Speeches Shim

August 31, 2017
Office of the Prime Minister, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

USAID is committed to helping Ethiopia leverage its human and economic capital, and to harness the power of Ethiopian farms and entrepreneurs to create a more economically prosperous and food-secure Ethiopia. This is why, yesterday, I announced that Ethiopia will be a target country for the next phase of Feed the Future. We look forward to partnering with Ethiopia on Feed the Future venture.

August 31, 2017

USAID Administrator Mark Green met today with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Administrator Green and Prime Minister Desalegn discussed U.S. support for Ethiopia's economic development, drought response, and food security.

Bineta Dioum Bam, the president of a local women’s group, winnows rice – a main staple in Senegal – in a newly irrigated perimeter in the country’s north.
August 31, 2017

Yesterday, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green announced the selection of 12 target countries for the next phase in America's global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda.

Administrator Mark Green visits a Feed the Future-supported abattoir in Ethiopia/Somali region, which has leveraged $15 millon in private investment
August 30, 2017
Jijiga Export Slaughter House, Jijiga, Ethiopia

Feed the Future harnesses the power of American development leadership and innovation to partner with host governments, and community leaders and the private sector to build resilient communities with the goal of helping people stand on their own two feet, no matter what challenge may come their way.  By equipping people with the tools to feed themselves and their families over the long term, Feed the Future and our partners are addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty and bolstering their ability to meet future challenges.  Ethiopia, in particular, is a great example of the impact that the Feed the Future partnership can have.  Thanks to all of you and your hard work, Ethiopia is making strong progress.  Because of investments by the national government, and with the support of smart development assistance, Ethiopia was able to bounce back from 2015 and 2016 droughts.  And I'm confident that Ethiopia's resilience will help the country to weather the current drought as well.

August 30, 2017
Jijiga Export Slaughter House, Jijiga, Ethiopia

I think Feed the Future itself, as an approach, is not simply humanitarian response.  Humanitarian response is important, but we’re all understanding, you want to help people protect themselves and to be strengthened against the potential for future shock and crisis, as a sad reality, Ethiopia seems to get those shocks every few years; not just once a generation.  And so, I think what we’re doing here, these sorts of facilities which create better livelihoods, but also some of the partnership for putting together, including the American business community, agribusiness community is a very smart way of tackling food and security.

August 29, 2017
Office of the Prime Minister, Khartoum, Sudan

Today, we discuss the importance of Sudan sustaining and building on its recent positive actions in multiple areas. These areas include maintaining a cessation of hostilities in the conflict areas, continuing improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, and maintaining cooperation with the United States on both regional conflicts and regional counterterrorism threats.

August 28, 2017

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green will travel to Ethiopia, August 30-31. The Administrator will visit multiple USAID-funded Feed the Future sites that contribute to strengthening community resilience and economic development in Ethiopia. Green will also visit a program supported through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which aims to reduce the economic vulnerability of families affected by HIV/AIDS.

August 28, 2017

My visit here to North Darfur today not only demonstrates USAID's continuing concern and support for the people of Sudan, but also shows USAID's long-standing legacy of support here, dating back to the early 1960s.   The timing of this visit, during the sanctions review period, shows the importance America attaches to our relations with Sudan.  We remain committed to engaging with the Government of Sudan at a high level on all areas of our bilateral relationship and to seeing sustained positive actions, including improving humanitarian access.

August 28, 2017
Khartoum, Sudan

I think it's also clear that the U.S. Government values its relationship with Sudan. I think Sudan is a country that has enormous potential, and I think it's a country that the U.S. is hoping to have a closer and stronger relationship with. I think what we are talking about -- in terms of the five-track plan -- presents an opportunity for a new and closer relationship in the future. That's what I think makes this so very important.

August 26, 2017

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green will travel to Sudan, August 27-29.

August 25, 2017
Statement by Clayton M. McCleskey, Acting Spokesperson

USAID is deeply disappointed by the decision of Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to shut down the NDI's Cambodian operations, and require its foreign staff to leave the country.

August 24, 2017

Administrator Green spoke today with Canadian Minister for International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau to discuss USAID and Global Affairs Canada's (GAC) close and multifaceted partnership.

August 21, 2017

Power Africa, a U.S. Government-led initiative to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, has released its annual report. The initiative consists of more than 150 public and private sector partners, which have collectively committed more than $54 billion towards achieving Power Africa's goals. It is among the world's largest public-private partnerships in development history.

August 18, 2017
Statement by Clayton M. McCleskey, Acting Spokesperson

This Saturday, August 19, marks World Humanitarian Day, a time to recognize aid workers who risk their lives while helping millions of people affected by global crises. Since the death of 22 United Nations and relief-agency staff on August 19, 2003 in a Baghdad bombing, each year we honor the brave women and men who have died while serving others, and celebrate the selfless spirit of those who risk everything to save lives.

August 16, 2017

But basically, my philosophy and my approach at USAID is precisely what I’ve talked about before and is in my statement that I submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  And I believe philosophically the purpose of foreign assistance is to end the need for its existence.  I believe in hand-up development.  So the American taxpayers are extraordinarily generous people and we aim to mobilize compassion around the world.  But I think the most important thing is to be truly compassionate, and that’s doing what we can to help our partners, allies, and friends to lead themselves, and so we look to build the capacity of our partners – host country partners, but also civil society and all those attributes that we all know are crucial for countries to rise.  And that’s what we want to work on.

August 11, 2017

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green spoke today with United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Department of International Development (DFID) Priti Patel. The Administrator thanked the Secretary for the long and productive partnership between USAID and DFID. 

August 7, 2017

Good morning.  It's good to see all of you.  Thank you for your kind welcome.  I can't tell you what an honor and relief it is to finally be here with you.  And before we go any further, I have a debt of gratitude to a number of people that I would like to mention.  First and foremost, President Trump and Secretary Tillerson for their trust and confidence.  I must say, they are obviously open-minded.  After all, Secretary Tillerson is from Texas, and I grew up in the shadow of Lambeau Field.

Second, I want to offer my very sincere thanks to Wade Warren for his leadership, during his time as Acting Administrator, during the many months of building a transition plan, and, of course, for his many years of service to the Agency.  Wade, thank you.  You've done a fabulous job,  a really wonderful job.  I also need to thank Don Gressett, Sonali Korde, Casey Redmon and my whole LPA staff for their great work during the confirmation process.  More importantly for making me appear better and smarter than I really am.

August 3, 2017

Today, the United States Senate confirmed Mark Andrew Green to be the eighteenth Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). With Mark's unwavering commitment to strengthening USAID's effectiveness and efficiency, the Agency will continue to forge new partnerships that strengthen its role as the global face of American generosity and an asset to national security.

August 3, 2017

Today the United States announced more than $169 million in humanitarian assistance to support those in Ethiopia and Kenya who are experiencing the effects of prolonged severe drought. This additional funding, including nearly $137 million in Ethiopia and nearly $33 million in Kenya, brings the total U.S. humanitarian contribution in Ethiopia and Kenya to more than $458 million in Fiscal Year 2017.

July 31, 2017

Hi everybody.  What a great crowd.  You've heard this already from a couple of the speakers but I just want to say, welcome to Washington.  I know that for many of you the last six weeks have been the first time that you have been to the United States, so I wanted to say, welcome to the United States.  Also, we're so happy to have you here with us.  When they asked me if I would be willing to come and speak at this event this morning, I jumped at the chance.  I've spent the majority of my career at USAID working in Africa and on African issues, both here in Washington and I also lived in Zimbabwe and Botswana, and traveled throughout the continent.

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