ForMin Bogdan Aurescu to attend two meetings on global food security in New York

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu will participate, on Wednesday and Thursday, in New York, at the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in two meetings on global food security initiated by the USA as the state holding the UN Security Council Presidency this month.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), the minister's participation in the events in New York continues his dialogue with the US Secretary of State on the mentioned topic, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers held in Berlin on May 14 and 15.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy will be present on Wednesday at the ministerial meeting "Global Food Security Call to Action", organized and hosted by Antony Blinken.

On Thursday, Bogdan Aurescu will take part in the open debate of the UN Security Council on "Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Conflict and Food Security", organized by the United States.

The two meetings will also be attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, senior UN officials, experts, ministers and dignitaries from Security Council, G7 and other UN member states who are or may be affected by food insecurity, with a focus on the countries most affected by the worsening global food crisis due to the Russian Federation's illegal war against Ukraine, which has also led to Moscow's blockade of grain exports from the respective country, respectively states that may contribute to strengthening food security, such as Romania, the Foreign Affairs Ministry mentions.

US Ministerial Meetings on Food Security are designed to find and determine the implementation of solutions to reduce the global effects of the food crisis.

During the two meetings, Minister Bogdan Aurescu will draw attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine and will highlight the complex implications of Russia's military conflict against this state, including from the perspective of food security. The head of the Romanian diplomacy will present the sustained, multidimensional efforts undertaken by Romania in support of Ukraine, which aim on the one hand to support the Ukrainian economy and, on the other hand, to limit the effects of the food crisis by facilitating and offering alternative transport routes for grain exports from Ukraine, including through the Constanta Port on the Black Sea and through the Romanian ports on the Danube.

In this context, he reiterated his call for the mobilization of as many international countries as possible to build a transport corridor, including at sea, with the involvement of Romanian routes and ports, in order to facilitate the carrying out of Ukrainian exports to their intended destinations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states.

At the same time, according to the quoted source, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs will highlight the importance of multilateral efforts, including at the UN level, for coordinating the international response to the widespread effects of the war in Ukraine, including in the field of food security.

"The presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the two events organized at the UN level offers the opportunity to reaffirm Romania's position as a supporter of effective multilateralism and rule-based international order. At the same time, by participating in these high level meetings, Romania continues to get involved in international efforts to counteract the negative impact of the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including in the area of global food security," reads the MAE press release.

Food insecurity is a widespread phenomenon, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and the impact of climate change. According to official estimates, in 2019 the number of people facing this phenomenon had reached 161 million, and 44 million people in 38 states are on the verge of starvation. At the same time, experts estimate that the devastating impact of Russia's war on Ukraine could bring nearly 40 million more people to the brink of poverty and hunger by the end of 2022, the MAE informs. AGERPRES