Government to Participate in 'Ukraine Grain Initiative'... Contributes $3 Million through WFP

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Humanitarian Perspective... Not a Political Intention"

Ukraine Grain Exports Through the Black Sea
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hee-jun Jang] The government will participate in the 'Ukraine Grain Initiative' program, which supports grain to food-insecure countries.

Im Soo-seok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced at a regular briefing on the 29th, "We plan to contribute 3 million dollars through the World Food Programme (WFP)."

The 'Ukraine Grain Initiative' is primarily a humanitarian project that supports some of the grain exported through the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement for grain transport between Ukraine and Russia using the Black Sea, to food crisis countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Spokesperson Im explained, "We decided to participate as part of the international community's efforts to resolve the global food crisis."

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced this plan at the G20 summit on the 15th and requested international participation. The Group of Seven (G7) and some European Union (EU) countries have decided to participate. Oleksandr Kornienko, First Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, who recently visited Korea, also requested participation in the 'Ukraine Grain Initiative,' saying, "Korea can join as a responsible member of the international community."

Meanwhile, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told reporters on the same day that regarding opinions suggesting that the 'Ukraine Grain Initiative' is a way to pressure Russia to prevent it from blocking the Black Sea route again, "It is purely a humanitarian project to supply food," and added, "There is no political intention to enable the continuous operation of the Ukrainian Odesa port." He further stated, "Specific support methods and target countries will be discussed with the WFP."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.