According to a statement by the Ukrainian Ambassador to
Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, the shipment is part of the Grain from Ukraine program.
Bodnar stated that the grain is currently being stored in
Turkey under the aegis of the United Nations World Food Program.
He also inspected the port and the Fuat Sezgin vessel, which
will convey the cargo to Nigeria as part of the Grain from Ukraine program.
The ambassador stated there were preparations to deliver
another 60 ships from other ports.
“During the Black Sea Grain Initiative, this grain was
delivered in bulk from one of the ports in Ukraine,” he stated.
“It is now being held in Turkey under the aegis of the
United Nations World Food Program. It is critical for us to work with the World
Food Program to send grain to countries like Nigeria.”
The skipper of the vessel bringing Ukrainian grain to Africa
told Ukrinform that the consignment is scheduled to arrive in Nigeria in about
a month.
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyema, and his
counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mohammad Abubakar, signed the
“Grains from Ukraine Project” in Abuja in January with Ukrainian Minister of
Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Solskyi.
The war between Ukraine and Russia caused worldwide supply
shortages, forcing the signature of the UN-backed Black Sea grain deal in 2022
to guarantee a safe passage for grains to countries suffering from food hunger,
particularly Sub-Saharan Africa.
However, Russia withdrew from the agreement after it expired
in July, claiming that grains from the agreement did not reach the countries
that needed them the most and that their commodities were not allowed for
export.
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