GRAIN TRANSPORT

GOS will implement the project. Immediately upon the signing of the GOS/A.I.D. agreement in September 1980, a public voucher for purchases and services will be executed. All ocean transport charges will be paid through the GOS freight account which will be created with funds from the public voucher at the Irving Trust Bank of New York. Grain shipments will begin in September; wherever possible, U.S. flag vessels will carry the grain to Somalia. If no U.S. flag ship is available, the flag vessels of any Code 899 country will be authorized to carry the Title II shipments. The grain will be distributed in Somalia to the indigenous rural and urban poor and to some of the more than 1.7 million refugees currently inhabiting the country. Particular attention will be focused on the 700,000 homeless and starving persons, 99% of whom are women and children, living in refugee camps. Through provision of this assistance, the United States will emphasize its desire to promote greater cooperation between the two countries. The U.S. willingness to assist Somalia in its current economic crisis will establish a foundation for future aid programs focusing on agricultural development, rangeland management, and delivery of health care and nutrition services.