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DEUkraine launched the Grain from Ukraine initiative on Holodomor Remembrance Day, within which up to 60 ships with Ukrainian grain can be sent to the poorest countries.
President Volodymyr Zelensky made a corresponding announcement at a briefing following the meeting with Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo.
The Head of State said that one of the main issues raised at the meeting was the Grain from Ukraine initiative.
“Belgium was the first to support it. Joined it, providing funding for the implementation of humanitarian food supply to countries that are facing hardships… Thanks to joint efforts, millions of people in the poorest countries of Africa and Asia will be saved from hunger and related social cataclysms,” Zelensky noted.
He added that Ukraine has been and remains to be the guarantor of global food security. And even in such harsh conditions of war, Ukrainian leadership works for global stability.
Zelensky also emphasised that Ukraine launches the programme on Holodomor Remembrance Day and will never forget its responsible role after surviving the famine as a nation.
As a reminder, the essence of the Grain From Ukraine programme is that the participating states buy agricultural products from Ukrainian producers – priority is given to small and medium-sized enterprises – and transfer them to countries on the verge of starvation.
According to the initiative, up to 60 ships with Ukrainian grain can be sent to the poorest countries in Africa by the middle of next year. High grain prices have forced some of the poorest countries out of the market.
The initiative challenges the Russian narrative that the Western response to Putin’s war against Ukraine has exacerbated existing food shortages in Africa.
The initiative is jointly organised by government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and private companies.
Bohdan Marusyak
