Latvia to support Ukrainian grain deliveries to African countries with EUR 50,000

RIGA - The government on Tuesday adopted a decision to allocate EUR 50,000 from the state budget contingency funds for the contribution to the humanitarian aid program Grain from Ukraine to facilitate Ukrainian grain deliveries to African countries. 

The Foreign Ministry noted that based on the UN World Food Program's estimates for the countries for which it has data, more than 345 million people are food insecure in 2023 and more than 43 million people in 51 countries face food insecurity at the highest or emergency level. The most critical food security situations in 2023 are in Somalia, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.

Russia's war in Ukraine contributes to the crisis in global food security, especially in countries with existing food shortages. Contributions to the Grain from Ukraine program will support Ukraine's efforts to contribute to global food security, which is one of the elements of the Peace Plan proposed by Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said.

With this contribution, Latvia is supporting both Ukraine and the countries to which the Ukrainian grain will be shipped. 

This will be Latvia's second contribution to the Grain from Ukraine program. In 2022, a financial contribution of EUR 50,000 was also provided.