On Sunday, United Nations Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, in a statement to the Secretary-General, that Mr. Guterres had decided to postpone his visit to the Arab League Summit in Algiers for one day to focus on this issue.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, mountains of grain accumulated in the bunkers, with ships unable to safely navigate Ukrainian ports and overland routes unable to compensate.
This has contributed to skyrocketing prices of staple foods around the world. Combined with an increase in energy costsdeveloping countries are pushed to the brink of default and more and more people are on the brink of starvation.
The initiative will expire in the second half of November, but there is an option to renew it, if all parties, including Russia and Ukraine, agree.
Millions of people have been rescued from extreme poverty
This agreement has been remarkably successful in lowering prices, allowing millions of tons of grain to be transported safely from Ukrainian ports. By September, Rebecca Grynspan, head of the United Nations trade agency, UNCTADand Amir Abdulla, the United Nations Coordinator for the Black Sea Grains Initiative, can proudly state that prices have fallen for five consecutive months, and the Food Price Index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, have fallen nearly 14% from their March peak.
According to United Nations estimates, The initiative has indirectly prevented about 100 million people from falling into extreme poverty.
However, on Saturday, Russia announced it was suspending participation in the deal, citing an attack the same day on ships in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
The move is said to have surprised traders and raised fears of another sharp rally in food prices. Arif Husain, Chief Economist at the World Food Program (WFP), which reportedly warned that Russia’s decision jeopardizes a large number of countries and should be resolved as soon as possible.
Mr. Dujarric said that the Secretary-General is continuing to have intense contacts with the aim of ending Russia’s suspension of participation in the Initiative.
This commitment is also aimed at renewing and fully implementing the initiative to facilitate the export of food and fertilizers from Ukraine, as well as removing the remaining obstacles to exports, he explained. Russian food and fertilizers.
