U.S. President Obama Urges Continuation Of Development Initiatives At White House Summit, Signs Global Food Security Act Of 2016

Associated Press: Obama: Development must remain top foreign policy plank
“President Barack Obama, taking stock Wednesday of his efforts to boost living standards in developing countries, said he made global development a ‘fundamental pillar’ of U.S. foreign policy because it’s a good investment, and he urged his successor to continue to prioritize the issue. Obama said funding development projects in spite of pressing needs in the U.S. is worthwhile because it helps with security at home…” (Superville, 7/20).

USA TODAY: Obama signs Global Food Security Act to end hunger
“A bipartisan bill promoting global food security, resilience, and nutrition could make hunger history, President Obama announced Wednesday during the White House Summit on Global Development. The Global Food Security Act of 2016, which the president signed Wednesday, determined it is in the U.S. national security interest to accelerate growth that reduces poverty, hunger, and malnutrition…” (Crescente, 7/20).

VOA News: Obama Presses for Development Initiatives to Continue Beyond Presidency
“… ‘I’m here to say that whoever the next president is, development has to remain a fundamental pillar of American foreign policy,’ [Obama] said Wednesday during the White House Summit on Global Development in Washington. … ‘We know there is a correlation between no education, no jobs, no hope, the violation of basic human dignity, and conflict and instability,’ he told the group, which included development leaders, private and public sector officials, members of civil society, religious groups, and entrepreneurs…” (Salinas, 7/20).

Washington Post: Obama will ensure his global development policy outlasts his presidency
“…Obama’s development initiative has been based in part by building on his predecessors’ work — by expanding George W. Bush’s PEPFAR program to combat the spread of AIDS in Africa — and by launching a new agriculture initiative as well as ones focused on electrification and strengthening the global health system. Although some development experts have identified areas where Obama could have pushed harder or devoted more attention and resources, most credited the president with working to expand and establish programs that could have an enduring impact…” (Eilperin, 7/20).

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