The UN seeks to extend the “Grain Agreement” for another year
12.10.2022 - 11:25
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and his team are working to extend the Istanbul Agreements — now a year ahead.
The UN is considering the possibility of extending and expanding the “grain corridor”. This became known during the session of the UN General Assembly, which took place on October 10, reports the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine.
The President of the UN Assembly, Chaba Kyoroshi, highly estimated the work of the “Grain Agreement”, with the help of which Ukraine has already exported 7 million tons of agricultural products. During his speech, he stated: “We will act together for the full implementation of vital food supplies from Ukrainian ports.”
Currently, UN Secretary General António Guterres and his team are working on the continuation of the “grain initiative”. It is about the one-year term of the agreements.
“The Secretary General and his team are conducting intensive negotiations on these issues. Mr. Guterres and the team are working hard on the expanded Black Sea Grains Initiative,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
The issue of continuation of the Grain Corridor is also raised by the European Business Association. It appealed to the UN and Turkey to extend the term of the “grain agreement” and to include the Mykolayiv port hub in the list of ports.
According to the UN spokesperson, on October 16, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development Rebecca Greenspan will visit Moscow for negotiations on the grain agreement. The main goal of the negotiations will be the expansion of grain supply through the “grain corridor”.
Why it is about a one-year agreement is currently unclear. Ukrainian defenders, with the support of international partners, are speeding up Ukraine’s victory in russia’s war of aggression as much as possible, and are making inhuman efforts to expel the russians from our territory and secure shipping in the Black Sea region. At the same time, the UN is talking about a one-year agreement, which will have to be negotiated with the terrorist country, thereby legitimizing its influence on sea transportation for the next 12 months. On the other hand, for Ukraine, such a term can become a guarantee of stable supplies of grain abroad under any conditions in Ukraine and the world.
Therefore, we are waiting for the position of the state bodies of Ukraine and more detailed explanations regarding the basis of the term of the new agreements.
