An agreement to resume grain shipment from Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea will be signed in Turkiye on Friday in a bid to resolve a global food crisis, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has confirmed.
“Tomorrow, we will take the first step in Istanbul towards the solution of the food crisis affecting the whole world, together with the UN secretary-general, the delegations of Russia and Ukraine,” Cavusoglu tweeted on Thursday.
“We will continue our efforts to resolve the conflict,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Earlier, the Turkish presidency said that the agreement will be signed on Friday with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkiye.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are expected to attend the signing ceremony, which will be held at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul on Friday at 16:30 local time, it said.
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The agreement comes at a time when there are growing concerns about a global food shortage as a result of the protracted crisis in Ukraine, which is partially blamed for the food price hikes across the world.
Last week, the four parties held their first round of negotiations in Istanbul with the aim to ship Ukraine’s grain to the world market to ease the supply shortage.
Turkiye has long served as a mediator in the effort to establish a mechanism that will prevent a food crisis by enabling Ukraine to export its grain to the global market via sea routes.
Istanbul will become an operational hub where the entire shipping process will be carried out, Turkish officials have said.
Turkiye controls maritime traffic entering and exiting the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait.
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