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Ukraine Blocks Food Aid to Sudan, Says Foreign Minister

MTI-Hungary Today 2023.09.21.

Hungary donated $3.5 million last year to deliver 10,000 tons of Ukrainian grain to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, but so far nothing has happened and they are waiting for permission from Kiev, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

At the meeting, the minister spoke on the situation in Sudan, saying that last year, the government donated USD 3.5 million (HUF 1 billion) to the World Food Programme (WFP) under the “Grain from Ukraine” initiative, to deliver 10,000 tons of Ukrainian grain to Sudan to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

However, despite the fact that Hungarian taxpayers’ money had already been used to provide this funding last year, not even a single ton of grain, not even a single gram, has been delivered,”

he noted, complaining of the inaction on the issue.

According to the foreign minister, this is due to the delay in the Ukrainian permit, but as soon as it arrives, Ukrainian grain can leave for Sudan. He stressed that although 10,000 tons of grain had been paid for, the Sudanese people were still suffering from famine. He emphasized that

Ukrainian grain should be transported to countries where it is needed, so it should not be brought to Central Europe, but to the starving people in Africa.

Péter Szijjártó also expressed Hungary’s strong concern about the destabilization of certain African regions, which could trigger a wave of migration in Europe. In his opinion, illegal immigration is a problem for countries of origin, transit, and destination, including Hungary, which is on the external border of the European Union.

Fact

Migration to Europe has been steadily increasing over the past two decades, with the number of migrants from Africa rising by 30 percent compared to 2010, to more than 40 million by 2020. This upward trend is expected to continue.

Hungary has indicated on several occasions that illegal immigration can be curbed through aid and assistance programs, which encourage people to stay in their home countries. One form of aid is the Hungary Helps Program, launched in 2017, to coordinate aid and development activities in developing countries and crisis areas, regardless of religious or ethnic affiliation.

The minister added that it was therefore important to tackle the main causes, namely armed conflicts and hunger. As he pointed out, food security has been threatened in many parts of the world due to the war in Ukraine and the resulting reduction in export capacities.

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Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter


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