Statement of the Secretary-General – on the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative

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STORY: Statement of the Secretary-General on the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative

TRT: 1 min 14s

SOURCE: UNTV CH

RESTRICTIONS: NONE

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

DATELINE: 17 November 2022 CAIRO, EGYPT

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SOUNDBITE (English) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres: “I have landed in Cairo on my way from the G20 summit in Bali to COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh. I was deeply moved to know that, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Ukraine, Russia and the UN had come to an agreement for the rollover of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, allowing for the free exports of Ukrainian grains. I want to express my deep commitment, and the commitment of the UN, to do everything possible for the smooth implementation of this agreement in Istanbul by the Joint Coordination Centre, and also to remove the remaining obstacles to the unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizers essential to avoid a food crisis next year too. I, in this moment, I want to reaffirm that Istanbul became an essential centre for discreet diplomacy to solve dramatic problems, and I want to express my deep gratitude to President Erdogan and to the government of Türkiye for their generous and very effective commitment.”

STORYLINE

UN’s Guterres welcomes renewal of Black Sea Grain Initiative

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday welcomed the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had been due to expire on Saturday.

More than 11.1 million tonnes of essential foodstuffs have been shipped as part of the agreement involving Türkiye, Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations, since it was signed on 22 July.

Speaking from Cairo, where Mr. Guterres was en route from the G20 summit in Bali to the COP 27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, he said that he was “deeply moved” and grateful that an agreement had been reached in Istanbul.

The UN chief also expressed his deep commitment to remove the “remaining obstacles to the unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizers”, as these remain “essential” to avoid a food crisis next year.

In a separate statement, Mr. Guterres insisted that the United Nations remained “fully committed” to supporting the initiative’s Joint Coordination Centre which oversees ship movements to and from Ukraine, “so that this vital supply line continues to function smoothly”.

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