INDIANAPOLIS, IN – From the fields that feed America and the world, to the businesses developing life-saving technologies, Indiana took center stage today as the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosted its sixth annual Heartland Summit, featuring Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Ambassador Kip Tom, retired U.S. Navy Admiral William Fallon, Cargill’s Daryn Kracht, and Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Vanessa Green Sinders, alongside business and nonprofit leaders, farmers, and veterans.

With a packed crowd of more than 200 people and thousands more tuning in online, the regional summit explored how America’s leadership on the world stage advances our national security, expands markets for Heartland farmers, manufacturers, and businesses, and drives economic prosperity across Indiana, where international trade supports nearly 750,000 Indiana jobs.

“Senator Todd Young is one of the preeminent national security leaders in the Senate and a trusted voice for strong, strategic American leadership on the world stage,” said Liz Schrayer, President and CEO, USGLC. “That was on full display today, as he reinforced that alongside our military might, America must show up with our civilian national security tools—including investments in effective international assistance and diplomacy—to outcompete our rivals, protect our national security, and strengthen Indiana’s economy for Hoosier farmers, businesses, and families.”

“I’m grateful to USGLC for your efforts, they couldn’t be timelier in the face of a great power competition with China…Diplomacy and development are widely understood across this country as essential components of smart American power,” said Senator Todd Young. “There’s an opportunity here for Hoosiers to do good and to do well in the process. This is farm country…this is biotech country…we could lead the way and bring a lot of good to the world in the process.”

“Food security is national security…when people can’t feed their families, instability grows that fuels conflict, displacement, and migration, and creates challenges that ultimately reach us here at home,” said Ambassador Kip Tom, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. “I’ve spent my life in agriculture and have seen around the world what American farmers, American innovation, and American leadership can accomplish when we put them together…to keep our country secure, competitive, and leading in the world.”

“We ought to lead with the many other attributes and capabilities of national power that this country possesses in great magnitude…and to do good, not just for ourselves, but for other people in the world who don’t have those blessings,” said Admiral William Fallon, former Commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command. “Throughout the world, this idea of security is a lot closer to home in most cases than some huge Army doing or a Navy doing battle in another place in the world.”

“This state alone is a powerhouse…the ag industry contributes $35 billion back into the into the economy here every year, and I think that’s critically important,” said Daryn Kracht, Group President, Agriculture and Trading North America, Cargill. “Markets that are developed and the diplomacy work that’s being done globally are so critical to creating markets because we all know that you produce more here than what you can consume.”

“Our economic strength, international partnerships, diplomacy, national defense, all help shape Indiana’s ability to compete, grow, and lead in the years ahead,” said Vanessa Green Sinders, President and CEO, Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

WATCH THE FULL LIVESTREAM HERE

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