Source The United Nations
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – Signing of the UN initiative on global access to Ukrainian food products and Russian food and fertilizers. Ukraine, the Russian Federation & Türkiye which opens a path for commercial food exports from Ukraine in the Black Sea and for Russian grain and fertilizer to help stabilize global food prices and stave off widespread famine.
An “unprecedented agreement” on the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea amid the ongoing war is “a beacon of hope” in a world that desperately needs it, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the signing ceremony in Istanbul, Türkiye, today (22 Jul).
The UN plan, which also paves the way for Russian grain and fertilizer to reach global markets, will help to stabilize spiralling food prices worldwide and stave off famine, affecting millions.
Guterres commended the Russian and Ukrainian representatives for putting aside their differences in the common interests of humanity.
He said, “the question has not been what is good for one side or the other,” adding, “the focus has been on what matters most for the people of our world. And let there be no doubt – this is an agreement for the world.”
The Secretary-General said the agreement “will bring relief for developing countries on the edge of bankruptcy and the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine. And it will help stabilize global food prices which were already at record levels even before the war – a true nightmare for developing countries.”
He urged all sides “to spare no effort to implement their commitments. We must also spare no effort for peace. This is an unprecedented agreement between two parties engaged in bloody conflict. But that conflict continues, and people are dying every day, and fighting is raging every day.”
Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the meeting that his country is “proud to be instrumental in an initiative that will play a major role in solving the global food crisis that has been on the world’s agenda for a long time.”
With the text agreed upon today, he said, “from Africa to the Middle East, from America to Asia, we will contribute together to preventing the danger of hunger that billions face from all over the world.”
Russian and Ukrainian Ministers signed the Black Sea Grain Initiative, facing each other at opposite ends of the table, while the Secretary-General and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sat in the centre.
Ukraine is among the world’s leading grain exporters, supplying more than 45 million tonnes annually to the global market, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The Russian invasion, which began on 24 February, has sparked record food and fuel prices, as well as supply chain issues, with mountains of grain stocks stuck in silos.
The initiative specifically allows for significant volumes of commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny.
The Secretary-General also announced the establishment of a Joint Coordination Centre to monitor implementation.