The Russian Ministry of Agriculture announced this Friday the free shipment of 50 thousand tons of grain to Somalia and Burkina Faso, fulfilling a promise made by President Vladimir Putin during the Russia-Africa summit in July.
“The first two ships, each with a displacement of 25 thousand tons, have already left Russian ports and headed to Somalia and Burkina Faso,” said the holder of this portfolio of the Russian government, Dmitry Patrushev, at an exhibition forum in Moscow.
“We hope that they will arrive at their destinations at the end of November – beginning of December,” the minister added.
In total, about 200 thousand tons of Russian wheat will be sent to Africa free of charge,” Patrushev added.
As for the other countries to which Putin has given commitments – Zimbabwe, Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Eritrea – the minister assured that the ships will begin their respective voyages before the end of this year.
At the Russia-Africa summit last July in St. Petersburg, Putin assured that Moscow would not only provide the grain free of charge, but would also cover transport costs.
Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that these six countries are “on the World Food Program list” and that Russian “humanitarian activities” will continue next year.
Russia made this decision shortly after it suspended its participation in the Black Sea Grain Agreement on July 17, which effectively canceled the humanitarian corridor through which Ukraine exported its grain to the world.
Since then, Russia has shown interest in increasing supplies to its traditional consumers in North Africa and the Middle East.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted that Ankara and Moscow are negotiating with Qatar to send one million tons of Russian grain for milling in Turkey and supplies to Africa.
Meanwhile, with the help of Western countries, Ukraine has managed to export more than a million tons of grain since July through a corridor created along the coasts of countries such as Romania, as well as across the Danube River.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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