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The regional economic forum APEC has begun hosting senior official and ministerial meetings this week in Seattle, Washington. This year, the United States will host the annual gathering as it navigates a range of complex topics and diplomatic challenges. Natasha Mozgovaya attended a ministerial on food security Thursday and has this report.]]
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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: US APEC Food Security
HEADLINE: Global Food Security on APEC Meeting Agenda in Seattle
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 08/04/2023 at 9:45am
BYLINE: Natasha Mozgovaya
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: SEATTLE
VIDEOGRAPHER: Natasha Mozgovaya
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Mia Bush
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bill Ide, Steve Hirsch
VIDEO SOURCE: VOA Original, AP archive, State Dept., YouTube
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 2:22
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG/Radio
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[The regional economic forum APEC has begun hosting senior official and ministerial meetings this week in Seattle, Washington. This year, the United States will host the annual gathering as it navigates a range of complex topics and diplomatic challenges. Natasha Mozgovaya attended a ministerial on food security Thursday and has this report.]]
((Natasha Mozgovaya, VOA News (standup version))
Over 3000 delegates to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit convene this month in Seattle. 21 APEC member economies account for nearly 40% of the global population and about half of the global trade, so the topics on the agenda are pretty diverse - from disaster management to energy to health. One of the biggest challenges this year is global food security.
((Courtesy: U.S. State Department))
((Mandatory: YouTube))
((Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture))
The APEC community shares a commitment to addressing global food needs now so thaet we can, in fact, build resilient systems.
((end courtesies))
((NARRATOR))
While this month’s senior officials and ministerial meetings will focus on increasing cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, one of APEC’s member countries is Russia, whose war in Ukraine and attacks against the grain infrastructure continue to affect the global food security system.
((Matt Murray, U.S. Senior Official for APEC))
“We are facing a lot of economic headwinds. There are challenges around the world, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and all of those things have significant impacts on the economic prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.”
((NARRATOR))
Matt Murray, America’s representative to APEC, told VOA that the U.S., as this year’s host, is doing its best to work with all parties, despite its continuing disappointment with Russian and Chinese blocking of attempts to express concern about the war’s impact on the region on the leaders’ level.
((Matt Murray, U.S. Senior Official for APEC))
If it becomes a situation where we have to issue chair statements because Russia continues to block the language and China continues to block the language, then we'll issue chair statements and note that accordingly.
((NARRATOR))
Questions remain about the attendance at the next APEC meeting, to be held in the fall in San Francisco, including representation of Hong Kong, whose CEO, John Lee, is under U.S. sanctions for his role in the crackdown on civil society during the 2019 mass protests.
((Matt Murray, US Senior Official for APEC))
“We've tried to be as good of a host as we possibly can, and made everything open to all economies. I think as we go forward towards November, you know, there will be some decisions made by the White House and others about, you know, attendance at the leaders' meeting.”
((NARRATOR))
Despite the immediate challenges, APEC officials are aiming to not lose sight of their long-term goals, prioritizing climate-resilient agriculture, innovation, and ensuring food is available to those who need it the most.
((Natasha Mozgovaya, VOA News, Seattle))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateAugust 4, 2023 09:23 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
