The initiative of the President of Ukraine GrainFromUA in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) has sent the first of three shipments to Palestine, which will provide food aid to more than 100,000 families caught in the middle of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, said Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
He noted that Ukraine is providing vital assistance to innocent civilians suffering from food shortages and at risk of starvation. Due to the Russian invasion, 70 million people around the world are facing a food crisis.
Food security is an important point of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Formula for Peace. And Ukraine and its partners continue to work on concrete steps to overcome the food crisis. The President's initiative GrainFromUA should continue to be implemented successfully, continuously and safely.
A vessel carrying 1,000 tonnes of wheat flour for Palestine arrived from Turkey to Jordan as part of the Grain from Ukraine programme.
This was the first shipment to Palestine under this initiative. Other ships are scheduled to depart in the coming months. In total, Ukraine plans to deliver more than 7,000 tonnes of wheat flour to Gaza under the initiative with the support of donors, including Norway, Austria, Estonia, France and Iceland.
The Head of the Presidential Office notes that Ukraine has always been and will continue to be a donor of food security for the whole world. Since the programme's inception, Ukraine has supplied essential foodstuffs to many countries, including Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen.
"Food security is one of the important points of the Formula for Peace, and I call on all countries to join our collective efforts to achieve it," Yermak wrote.
He also noted that Ukraine continues to adhere to its commitments to support countries in need and demonstrates its solidarity and responsibility for global food security.
According to Yermak, since the launch of the Grain From Ukraine initiative in autumn 2022, 221.41 thousand tonnes of agricultural products have been shipped from Ukraine to 10 countries in Africa and Asia.