Erdogan: We will send Ukrainian grain to Africa to achieve balance

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that they intend to send grain coming through the Black Sea corridor to Africa “for balance”.

This came in his speech on Sunday during a youth event organized by the Justice and Development Party in the southwestern province of Mugla.

Erdogan explained that 44 percent of the grain shipped through the Black Sea went to Europe and 14 percent to Africa.

He added, “Now we will balance it by sending it to African countries.”

Erdogan indicated that this step comes as the “best response” to the demands of needy people in Africa.

In a related context, Erdogan stressed that the world realized Turkey’s position during the Russian-Ukrainian war, indicating that his country was the country that had the solution to the grain corridor crisis in the Black Sea.

He reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that grain be delivered to poor African peoples free of charge.

In response to the aforementioned proposal from Putin, Erdogan said that they aim to convert grain and wheat coming through the Black Sea corridor into flour in Turkish facilities, and then present them to needy countries in Africa.

On July 22, 2022, Istanbul witnessed the signing of the “Initiative Document for Safe Shipping of Grains and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports” between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations.

The agreement included securing grain exports stuck in Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea (eastern Europe) to the world to address the global food shortage crisis that threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.