Vitalii Koval: Ukraine is open to cooperation with African countries in agriculture and food trade

Despite the war, Ukraine continues to ensure international food security and supplies products for 400 million people in more than 100 countries. African countries are no exception. This was stated by Vitalii Koval, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, during an online speech at the World Without Hunger Conference.

“I am addressing you as partners. I believe that the prospects for cooperation between Ukraine and African countries in the field of agriculture are great. We know that direct partnership between Ukraine and African countries in the field of agricultural development and food trade is an effective way to solve the problems of food shortage. Let's look for new ways to expand cooperation in the agricultural sector. In particular, by increasing trade turnover between our countries,” Vitalii Koval stressed.

The Minister noted that Ukraine continued to provide humanitarian aid to African countries suffering from hunger. Thanks to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's humanitarian initiative “Grain from Ukraine”, Ukraine has demonstrated its status as a reliable guarantor of food security..

According to him, in confirmation of this, the Third International Summit “Food Security 2024” will be held in Kyiv on 23 November. At this event, Ukraine, together with international partners, plans to draw the world’s attention to the importance of joining efforts to overcome hunger on the African continent.

Vitalii Koval also said that another area of cooperation between Ukraine and African countries was agricultural education and scientific and technical cooperation. The Minister stressed that Ukraine was ready to share crop cultivation technologies and introduce innovations together with African countries to solve the complex problems of hunger.

“Ukraine is open to cooperation. I am confident that together we will find the right points of contact and ensure universal access to nutritious food,” Vitalii Koval said.

The World Without Hunger conference is organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Government of Ethiopia with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The event brings together more than 1,500 high-level stakeholders, including heads of state and government, ministers, UN agencies, the private sector, financial institutions, the donor community, DFI/IFIs, civil society, NGOs, academia and the media.