JAKARTA - The restoration of the global food supply chain needs the support of world unity. As stated by the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, who chaired the Ministerial Conference on Uniting for Global Food Security together with foreign ministers from Germany, France, the United States, and Senegal.
In a conference held under the German G7 Presidency and conducted in a hybrid manner on Friday, June 24, Retno emphasized that war has always been a humanitarian tragedy and its impact is not limited to one region.
He said the current war had destroyed the global food system that had previously been weakened by the pandemic and climate change. "In this difficult time, the world has no other choice but to unite to restore global food security," said Retno, in a written statement quoted by Antara, Sunday, June 26.
Regarding this issue, Retno conveyed two important things to do in the short term, namely first, the world must not give up on finding a peaceful solution in Ukraine while still upholding international law.
"This war must stop immediately, and all parties must contribute to this goal," he said.
Second, the world needs to urgently restore global food and fertilizer supply chains that were disrupted as a result of the impact of war.
Retno reminded that if the world fails to overcome the fertilizer crisis, there will be a rice crisis affecting the fate of more than two billion people in the world.
An effective solution to this food crisis, he said, would be the reintegration of Ukrainian food production and Russian food and fertilizer production on the world market, apart from war.
“It is necessary to secure a grain corridor from Ukraine and open the export of food and fertilizers from Russia. All countries must refrain from actions that will further exacerbate the food crisis," said Retno.
Furthermore, he explained that the world needs to collaborate to encourage investments that can increase agricultural productivity, diversify food production and imports, and encourage non-discriminatory trade in agricultural products.
At the end of her statement at the conference which was attended by more than 25 countries, Retno emphasized that the world is now in a race against time to take immediate action to overcome the global food crisis.
The Ministerial Conference on Uniting for Global Food Security is a meeting initiated by Germany as the holder of the G7 Presidency in 2022. The meeting was attended by foreign ministers, ministers of agriculture, and ministers of development from various G7 countries, member countries of the Champions of Global Crisis and Response Group, as well as a number of countries. donors and representatives of international organizations.
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