SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good evening, everyone. It is great to be back in Africa, but also to make my first appearance to Ethiopia as Secretary of State.
I'm here in Ethiopia - and then on to Niger - to reaffirm the pledge that President Biden made at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit late last year. As he put it, the United States is "all in on Africa, and all in with Africa." That means the United States is committed to deep, responsive, and genuine partnerships on the continent, because we believe we can only solve shared challenges - and deliver on the fundamental aspirations of our people - if we work together.
One way we're doing that is making good on the commitment that we've made to help partners in Africa deal with the huge challenge of food insecurity. Last year, 140 million people in Africa suffered from acute food insecurity - a crisis exacerbated by COVID-19, by climate change, by conflict. This led to shortfalls in commodities, fertilizer, and fuel, all of which spiked prices and created supply chain disruptions. To meet that challenge, the United States has invested $13.5 billion last year to reduce acute and chronic hunger worldwide, largely in Africa.
At the same time, together with African countries, we're supporting immediate interventions like the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has brought Ukrainian grain to countries across Africa as well as lowering prices around the world.
Over 4 million metric tons of wheat have gone directly to developing countries as a result of that initiative - that is the equivalent of 8 billion loaves of bread. Millions rely on the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It cannot be allowed to lapse.
But we've also heard loudly and clearly from African partners that emergency aid cannot be the only solution. So we're investing in sustainable, long-term African food production - working with our African partners on innovative solutions that will ensure that Africa not only meets needs on the continent but can become a supplier for the rest of the world.
Today, American and African scientists are collaborating to devise climate-resilient, nutritious crops. We're working on international efforts to significantly increase yields in Africa, including by mapping and improving the quality of topsoil. We're employing satellite photography technology to discover new water resources - as we recently did in Niger, where five new aquifers have been found, containing over 600 billion cubic meters of accessible water. And we're harnessing public sector financing tools to unlock private sector investment that will expand infrastructure, agribusiness, and trade.
Tomorrow, I'll have an opportunity to meet with AU Chairman Faki to discuss the partnership between the United States and the African Union. We'll talk about how the United States can help the AU realize its Agenda 2063 to build an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa. And how the United States can best support the AU's regional economic integration goals as the African Continental Free Trade Area gets up and running. And this is something that's going to make a huge difference as African economies become increasingly integrated, that will increase trade and investment among them, but it will also attract even more investment and trade outside of Africa. We have had to date in Africa the abnormal situation where African countries are doing more trade and investment with countries outside of the continent than they do among themselves. When the free trade area gets up and running, that will change and I think it will be a very powerful tool for economic growth. I'll also convey our continued support for African representation in multilateral institutions, to include the United Nations Security Council and the G20.
African-led solutions are increasingly making the difference on the challenges of the 21st century. One of the most powerful testaments to the importance of African leadership has been the November 2nd Cessation of Hostilities Agreement to end the conflict and suffering in northern Ethiopia.
The conflict was absolutely devastating. Hundreds of thousands killed. Widespread sexual violence against women. Millions forced to flee their homes. Many left in need of food and shelter, medicine. Hospitals, schools, and businesses were shelled and destroyed.
The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement is a major achievement and step forward, saving lives and changing lives. The guns are silent.
As the fighting has stopped, human rights violations declined. Humanitarian assistance is flowing, finally reaching nearly all communities in need, services are being restored in the Tigray Region, the TPLF is disarming, Eritrean and other non-federal forces are departing. The dedicated diplomacy of the mediators from the African Union, from Kenya, from South Africa, supported by the United States, was essential to securing this agreement. And the AU monitoring mechanism is a key to its full implementation.
Prime Minister Abiy and the Ethiopian federal government and Tigrayan regional leaders should be commended for reaching this agreement and the significant progress in delivering on their commitments. These efforts have created the foundation to rebuild the communities that have suffered so in Tigray, Amhara, and the Afar regions. They need the help and support.
I strongly urged the inclusion as well of women in decision-making roles as the agreement is implemented - especially in light of gender-based violence that was perpetrated during the conflict.
Today, I first met with Prime Minister Abiy, and then with the signatories to the agreement - the heads of delegation of the Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF - to underscore our support for peace as well as the dividends it can yield. And those dividends are important. People need to see that peace brings concrete dividends in their lives. That starts, of course, with the cessation of violence, but we want to build positive things on top of that.
We welcome the commitments that the parties have made to acknowledging the atrocities committed and their devastating consequences. For our part, the United States acknowledges the human rights violations and repression committed during the past three decades - actions which sowed the seeds of future conflict. We and others were insufficiently vocal about those abuses in the past.
Recognizing the atrocities committed by all parties is an essential step to achieving a sustainable peace. We urge Ethiopians to follow through on their commitments to each other to implement an inclusive and comprehensive transitional justice process that includes both reconciliation and accountability. Overcoming poisonous grievances and ethnic divisions is the only way to break the cycle of political and ethnic violence in the north, in Oromia, or anywhere else. As a partner in that effort, the United States is providing both technical and financial support.
Building lasting peace is being made more complicated by the acute economic challenges that Ethiopia faces resulting from the conflict, resulting from drought, resulting from food insecurity.
As I conveyed to Prime Minister Abiy, the United States - as Ethiopia's largest bilateral donor, providing over $3 billion in humanitarian assistance since 2020 - we will continue to be there for Ethiopians.
We'll keep partnering on food security. Today I announced an additional $331 million in emergency food and humanitarian assistance that will reach millions of people, millions of Ethiopians affected by conflict, affected by drought.
We'll keep working together on public health, building on our many years of partnership to combat HIV/AIDS, and continue to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that we're all prepared for future pandemics.
We'll continue to support Ethiopia's economic development, investing hundreds of millions in health, economic growth, education, democracy, and food security every year.
And we'll continue to support migrants and refugees, and victims of human rights abuse.
In all (inaudible), our mission is to build a strong partnership between the United States and Ethiopia that ensures we can meet the aspirations of (inaudible).
So I look forward to an important week of engagement with our partners on the continent, including the engagements that we had today, building on a stretch of high-level visits from the administration since the Africa Leaders Summit: Treasury Secretary Yellen, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, First Lady Dr. Biden, and soon Vice President Harris, as she visits Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia later this month.
So with that, happy to take some questions.
