Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Executive Managing Director Elouafi of CGIAR

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with CGIAR’s new Executive Managing Director, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, yesterday in Washington, D.C. to discuss the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) and the importance of science and innovation in addressing global food security, including hunger and malnutrition. Secretary Blinken welcomed the development of a CGIAR VACS Agenda that will support agricultural productivity through the scaling of climate-resilient crop varieties and improving soil health. Secretary Blinken thanked Dr. Elouafi for CGIAR’s ongoing partnership and alignment of its global research capabilities – more than 10,000 people working in over 80 countries – with VACS.