(Ottawa) Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to New York on Wednesday for two days of meetings at the UN to help mobilize a global response to the food security crisis resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Posted at 7:35 a.m.
Mme Joly will meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for talks and participate in a UN Security Council open debate on the link between conflict and food security.
Earlier this week, M.me Joly said Canada plans to send cargo ships to ports in Romania and other European countries neighboring Ukraine to help it export its wheat.
Russia has blocked Ukrainian ports, halting exports of wheat and sunflower oil to dependent countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The United Nations World Food Program has warned that as well as driving up grain prices, making it more expensive to feed hungry people, the conflict could also push countries dependent on Ukrainian wheat into starvation.
Ukraine is one of the biggest wheat exporters in the world, and some countries, including Lebanon and Bangladesh, depend on it as a staple food.
Julie Marshall, Canadian spokeswoman for the World Food Programme, noted that Ukraine produces enough to feed around 400 million people worldwide. But millions of tonnes of wheat, much of it destined for developing countries, are stored in silos and stuck on ships because of the conflict.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, Yulia Kovaliv, told a committee of MPs that not only is Russia blocking Ukrainian ports, but stealing its grain supplies and trying to ship them to Crimea, under Russian control .
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau warned that the Russians were also targeting agricultural machinery and equipment needed to collect and distribute the Ukrainian harvest.
During her two days in New York, Mme Joly will participate in a call to action for global food security, hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where she will meet with a number of foreign ministers from around the world to discuss the food crisis and the rising grain prices.
Canada is one of the world’s largest wheat exporters and has said it will do what it can to make up the shortfall. Butme Bibeau said Canada and the United States had a poor harvest last year due to drought, so grain stocks are below normal.
“The actions of the Russian regime in Ukraine are being felt around the world, especially among the most vulnerable countries,” said Mr.me Pretty. “Canada is committed to working with our allies to find real solutions to help mitigate the impacts of the food security crisis, and help ensure our future resilience. »