Secretary to Lead U.S. Delegation to G8 Ministry

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will lead the U.S. delegation to Italy later this month for the G8 Agricultural Ministerial. The three day meeting begins April the 18th. Vilsack confirmed his attendance and pointed out that - hunger and malnutrition afflict more than one billion people around the world, causing human suffering, political instability and economic stagnation. This ministerial, he said, provides a unique opportunity to work with other agriculture ministers in developing a shared strategy to deal with food security issues.

The G8 Agricultural Ministerial is comprised of top agriculture leaders from the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Russia. In addition, agriculture leaders from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Egypt and the Czech Republic are expected to attend. Also expected to attend are: the European Union's Commissioner of Agriculture and leaders of the World Bank, the World Food Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

At the conclusion of last year's G8 Summit in Japan, top leaders issued a statement on global food security, outlining specific commitments to effectively improve the food security situation around the world. They also urged their agriculture ministers to hold a meeting to contribute to developing sound proposals on global food security.