A handout picture released by the Egyptian Presidency shows Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) meeting with US President Joe Biden (R) in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022 ahead of the GCC 3 summit. AFP
According to US embassy in Cairo, US President Biden made the pledge during his bilateral meeting with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Jeddah on the sidelines of the GCC+3 summit.
The embassy added that this pledge is subject to congressional approval.
“Building on more than 40 years of partnership and over $1.4 billion in US assistance to Egypt’s agricultural sector, the US government stands in solidarity with the people of Egypt at this crucial moment, as Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine threatens the prosperity and livelihoods of Egyptians,” US Charge d’ Affairs Nicole Shampaine said, noting the depth of the US support to the Egyptian agricultural sector.
Criticising Russia for invading Ukraine, the US embassy in Cairo said that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has blocked Black Sea ports and disrupted agricultural supply chains.
“Russia has also destroyed grain storage facilities in Ukraine and prevented Ukrainian farmers from working their fields by attacking their communities and their land,” the US embassy in Cairo said, adding that this has resulted in higher food prices and rising food insecurity globally.
The US embassy said that to address these consequences, the US is providing funding to more than 47 countries and regional organisations, including Egypt, to save lives through emergency interventions that will mitigate further increases in poverty, hunger and malnutrition due to the rising price of food, fertiliser and fuel.
“The US government has provided technical assistance to more than 500,000 Egyptian smallholder farmers, improving their farm management techniques and access to financial services,” the US embassy’s statement read.
“In the past 20 years, the US government’s global hunger and food security initiative and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have helped Egypt increase its agricultural export revenue by 1,500 percent,” the US embassy continued.
The $50 million pledge comes after the European Union (EU) announced that they had allocated €100 million in immediate relief to encourage investments in Egypt's agricultural sector and secure the country's food needs during the global grain crisis.
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