G20 leaders call for renewal of the grain deal

The leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries in a joint declaration called for the implementation of the Black Sea grain agreements and an end to military actions aimed at destroying energy and food supply facilities.

This is stated in the section of the Summit Declaration “For the sake of the planet, people, peace and prosperity”. The full text of the document was published by the press service of the European Council.

“Leaders emphasized the importance of sustainable food and energy security and called for an end to attacks on relevant infrastructure. We also expressed deep concern about the grave consequences that this conflict (the war in Ukraine – ed.) has on the security of civilians, exacerbating existing socio-economic hardships and impeding effective humanitarian assistance,” the document says.

The G20 leaders emphasized that the war in Ukraine increases human suffering, has an additional negative impact on food and energy security, supply chain resilience, macro-financial stability, etc.

This, as they say, creates difficult political circumstances for countries, especially developing countries and least developed countries, which are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and from the economic downturn that has halted progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, “there are different views and assessments of this situation.”

“We are grateful for Turkey’s efforts and for the Istanbul agreements reached with the assistance of the UN, consisting of a memorandum of understanding between the Russian Federation and the UN Secretariat on the promotion of Russian food products and fertilizers to world markets and on the initiative for the safe transportation of grain and food from Ukrainian ports (Black Sea Initiative).

We call for their full, timely, and effective implementation to ensure the immediate and unimpeded delivery of grain, food, and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine. This is necessary to respond to the demand in developing countries and less developed countries, especially in Africa,” the document says.

The G20 leaders called on all states to adhere to the principles of international law, including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and to promote the effectiveness of the multilateral system to maintain peace and stability.

Tags: G20, Black Sea grain deal