Global food security – Contributions from France and Germany to the World Food Programme operation transporting Ukrainian grain to Somalia and Ethiopia (September 28, 2022)

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As announced by the President of the French Republic, Mr Emmanuel Macron, and the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Olaf Scholz, at the United Nations General Assembly, France and Germany will contribute financially to the transport and distribution of 50,000 tonnes of wheat provided free of charge by Ukraine to Somalia and Ethiopia, in an unprecedented gesture of solidarity, even as Ukraine is under attack in a war of aggression.

The wheat will be transported by ship in the coming weeks to the two Horn of Africa countries, in the framework of an operation led by the World Food Programme. France and Germany have committed to contribute $14 million each to this operation. France will contribute to the operation for Somalia, while Germany will contribute to the operation for Ethiopia. This initiative is a response to the particularly severe food crisis that these two countries are currently experiencing.

These financial contributions are another tangible example of the countries’ political commitment to fighting global food insecurity and malnutrition, worsened by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This operation, in line with the solidarity approach that is central to the European Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative, would not have been possible without the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

With this wheat donation, Ukraine and European Union countries are showing solidarity with African populations who are particularly affected by the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.