Secretary John Kerry visited USAID for the first time since his appointment on Wednesday morning. Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Denise Rollins delivered opening remarks and Administrator Rajiv Shah (pictured above) greeted the Secretary before he began his address.
Before his swearing is as Secretary of State, John Kerry was devoted to the causes of international development ad foreign aid during the twenty-eight years he served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In his speech to the USAID assembly, Kerry spoke of the importance for maintaining a cohesive network of inter-agency initiatives to continue make a difference. He also reminded the agency that, “we present the face of America [and]the values of America” and it is our job to “change opinions, to save lives…[and]to connect the dots so Americans understand [development]isn’t a waste of effort.”
One of Kerry’s espoused goals for his term as Secretary of State is to streamline and integrate the foreign aid and development processes with national security and foreign relations. In doing so he hopes that USAID’s priorities of advancing education, global health, HIV prevention and gender equality will be better achieved.
– Morgan Forde
Source: USAID
Photo: Il Manifesto