The presidents of South Africa and the Ivory Coast welcome the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine

July 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the president of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, have welcomed the resumption of grain exports between Ukraine and Russia, under the supervision of Turkey and the United Nations.

“Our continued dependence on massive amounts of grain from that part of the world must be seen as a real risk and danger to the 1.3 billion people in African countries. Therefore, we must use this conflict as a wake-up call,” he said. indicated Ramaphosa at a press conference in Pretoria, collected by ‘BBC’.

The South African president has pointed out that the blockade of cereals in Ukrainian ports had forced African countries to rethink food supply due to the high dependence on imports.

For his part, Ouattara said he was pleased to see that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to sign the aforementioned agreement.

“I also indicated to the (Ukrainian) president, Volodimir Zelenski, that I wanted the supply to become a priority for the African continent, due to the fragility of their economies and the social situation in many countries,” added the Ivorian president. .

Russia and Ukraine signed this Friday in Istanbul through the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey an agreement to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports in a solution to the food crisis caused by the lack of grain in the most needy countries of the world.

Under the deal, a coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN personnel will oversee grain loading onto ships in the Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chernomosk and Pivdenyi, before sailing a pre-planned route through the Black Sea.

The ships will cross the Black Sea to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait, where a joint coordination center will be established in Istanbul, including representatives from the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey. Likewise, this center will be in charge of examining the ships that enter Ukraine to guarantee that they do not carry weapons or combat material.

Similarly, the Russian and Ukrainian sides undertake to suspend any attack on ships or ports involved in these exports. Staff from Turkey and the United Nations will be in Ukrainian ports to confirm security in the areas protected by the agreement.