Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, announced that Egypt has welcomed the United Nations (UN) agreement on establishing a corridor for grain exports.
The statement came during a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.
In the same vein, Shoukry emphasized the African country’s call for a political resolution to the crisis in Ukraine.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “a set of concrete proposals” aimed at reviving a deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain.
Moscow quit the deal last July, noting that the food and fertilizer exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.
Guterres’ letter comes ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan.
Pope Francis called on Russia to re-establish the Black Sea initiative so that the wheat could be safely transported.
“We are constantly praying for martyred Ukraine, where the war is destroying everything, including the wheat, which is a major offense to God because wheat is his gift to feed humanity and the cries of millions of our brothers and sisters suffering from hunger are lifting to the sky,” Francis said.
Last June, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi joined other African leaders in a video conference today to discuss an African initiative aiming to mediate the escalating Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
Other participants included the current Chair of the African Union and President of Comoros, Osman Ghazali, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
