President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently urged the G7 leaders’ support to reintegrate Ukrainian wheat, as well as Russian food and fertilizer exports into the global supply chain in a bid to address the war-driven food crisis.
Jokowi on Monday attended the G7 Summit in Elmau, Germany, with the food crisis fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine war was high on the agenda.
“The president said that we must act fast to find a concrete solution. Food production must be ramped up. The global food and fertilizer supply chain needs to return to normal,” Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi told a press briefing.
“[Jokowi] also stressed the importance of communicating to the world that Russian food and fertilizers are not subject to sanctions,” Retno added.
The president called for intensive communication so there wouldn’t be any prolonged doubt among the international public. Intensive communication is also necessary to be done with relevant parties including banks, insurance, and shipping industries, to name a few.
The president warned that the food crisis could push people of developing countries into starvation and extreme poverty. As many as 323 million people are at risk of facing acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.
“The president also [told the summit] that the war’s impact on the global food and fertilizer supply chain is real. For fertilizers, it can lead to a rice crisis that might affect two billion people, especially those in developing nations,” Retno said.
On the sidelines of the event, Jokowi had nine bilateral meetings with the other leaders, among others, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Most of these bilateral meetings discussed the war in Ukraine and its impact on the global food supply chain,” Retno said.
Source from Jakarta Globe
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