From June 10-14, Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman traveled to India to lead the U.S. Delegation to the Group of 20 (G20) Development Ministerial and met with partners on USAID's joint efforts with the Government of India to expand women's economic empowerment, advance climate action, bridge the gender digital divide, and improve health outcomes.
At the G20 Development Ministerial, Deputy Administrator Coleman provided updates on U.S. development priorities and reiterated the United States' strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda during sessions on "Multilateralism - Collective Actions for Accelerating Progress towards SDGs" and "Green Development with a LiFE Approach." Over the course of the two sessions, the Deputy Administrator expressed the United States' commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, highlighting USAID's work on data for development, women-led development, and climate change. She called for action to accelerate progress to close the gender digital divide and invited G20 members and other stakeholders to join the Women in the Digital Economy Initiative. She highlighted the need to accelerate actions to halve food loss and waste to drastically reduce methane emissions in order to meet 2030 Goals, underscoring that reduction in food loss and waste is a triple win for climate, nutrition and food security, and economic development. She also emphasized the importance of behavioral science to address climate change as well as other development outcomes including gender equality, biodiversity conservation, social cohesion, improved health, and inclusive growth.
In addition to the formal G20 sessions, Deputy Administrator Coleman met with leaders from India, Bangladesh, Brazil, the U.K., Canada, the European Union (EU), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In her meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, the Deputy Administrator highlighted the U.S.-India strategic development partnership and commended India for its leadership as G20 president. With Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio, Brazil's Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs, they discussed Brazil's upcoming 2024 G20 Presidency.
In both G20 Ministerial sessions and during bilateral meetings, the Deputy Administrator stressed the importance of the G20 in addressing the immense challenges stemming from the Russian Federation's unprovoked and unjust war against Ukraine, especially the damaging effects on global food security and energy security.
In Bengaluru, the Deputy Administrator engaged with tuberculosis survivors who now serve as community champions and toured a textile factory to observe USAID's partnership with the private sector to advance women's economic empowerment. Deputy Administrator Coleman also met with private sector and philanthropic leaders for a roundtable discussion focused on joint efforts to bridge the gender digital divide. The day concluded by meeting with women entrepreneurs supported by USAID to produce and sell sustainable products to global retailers, accelerating both climate action and inclusive economic growth.
At the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, the Deputy Administrator met with Embassy leadership and engaged with USAID's local staff to convey her appreciation for their work and commitment to advancing the U.S.-India development partnership.
