India's leadership vital to fight global hunger: US aid chief

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) chief Samantha Power, who is on a visit to India, said that India's insights and leadership are vital to help fight global hunger.

"With US support, India transformed from food aid recipient to major agricultural exporter. To tackle the global food crisis, India's insights and leadership are vital. I met with experts in Delhi to discuss how India's expertise can be brought to bear to help fight global hunger," Power wrote in a tweet.

The USAID chief also met with NITI Aayog CEO Param Iyer and said that India can guide the world and help them with its development roadmap.

"Met with Param Iyer, new CEO of NITI Aayog, the Indian govt's policy think tank. India's experiences, from digital innovation to reducing water waste to eliminating paperwork burdens, can inform development roadmaps worldwide," she wrote.

Amid the global food crisis, USAID chief Power is visiting India from July 25-27.

"I visited USAID's "Water ATM" near Sarojini Market which provides safe, affordable drinking water 24/7 for the community, including autorickshaw drivers, construction workers & a local chai stand at the market. Just one example of the concrete impact of US-India collaboration."

Power's visit is seen to be crucial in underscoring 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, the USAID release had added.

The visit to India comes amid a global food crisis due to the 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 nations 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 fertilizers 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.

(ANI)