On the recordMay 21, 2012
to mark the occasion of President Obama's Camp David G8 Summit focusing, in part, on the problem of food security in Africa, I want to take this opportunity to address the necessity for the United States to help foster stable and democratic nations as partners as we build multilateral coalitions to tackle global issues like hunger and poverty. Alaska is a long way from Africa, but the citizens of my State are committed to a stable and prosperous Africa. Many Alaskans contribute their time and resources toward this goal. A year ago in Deauville, France, President Obama joined other leaders of the G8 in reaffirming that ``democracy lays the best path to peace, stability, prosperity, shared growth and development.'' As the events in North Africa and the Middle East have shown, supporting reliable autocrats who are helpful on matters of security and economics at the expense of human dignity, basic democratic rights, and access to economic opportunity is more perilous than ever to long-term U.S. national security interests. It is for this reason that I make a few points about our reliable partner in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia. Two weeks ago at the World Economic Forum, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi made hopeful remarks about the virtues of democratic society. I publically commit my continuing support for efforts to make such important principles a reality in Ethiopia. It is in the U.S.…
