Our proposed FY 1982 bilateral development aid program is directly responsive to the agreement reached at the 1980 Venice Economic Summit that the major industrial nations should increase their aid for food and energy production and for family planning.  We understand that other Summit countries plan similar responses.  It is also important to honor our international agreements for multilateral assistance by authorizing and appropriating funds for the International Financial Institutions.  These multilateral programs enhance the efficiency of U.S. contributions by combining them with those of many other donor countries to promote development; the proposed new World Bank affiliate to increase energy output in developing countries offers particular promise.  All these types of aid benefit our long-run economic and political interests.

Progress was made on a number of economic issues in negotiations throughout the U.N. system.  However, in spite of lengthy efforts in the United Nations, agreement has not been reached on how to launch a process of Global Negotiations in which nations might collectively work to solve such important issues as energy, food, protectionism, and population pressures.  The United States continues to believe that progress can best be made when nations focus on such specific problems, rather than on procedural and institutional questions.  It will continue to work to move the North-South dialogue into a more constructive phase.

FOOD—­THE WAR ON HUNGER

The War on Hunger must be a continuous urgent priority.  Major portions of the world’s population continue to be threatened by the specter of hunger and malnutrition.  During the past year, some 150 million people in 36 African countries were faced with near disaster as the result of serious drought, induced food shortages.  Our government, working in concert with the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization (Fao), helped to respond to that need.  But the problems of hunger cannot be solved by short-term measures.  We must continue to support those activities, bilateral and multilateral, which aim at improving food production especially in developing countries and assuring global food security.  These measures are necessary to the maintenance of a stable and healthy world economy.

I am pleased that negotiation of a new Food Aid Convention, which guarantees a minimum annual level of food assistance, was successfully concluded in March.  The establishment of the International Emergency Wheat Reserve will enable the U.S. to meet its commitment under the new Convention to feed hungry people, even in times of short supply.

Of immediate concern is the prospect of millions of Africans threatened by famine because of drought and civil disturbances.  The U.S. plea for increased food aid resulted in the organization of an international pledging conference and we are hopeful that widespread starvation will be avoided.