Finance
V. Muraleedharan, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, has assured the United Nations that, despite export restrictions, India will provide food to countries that “are most in need” as a result of the Ukraine conflict.
“Let me make it clear that these measures allow for export on the basis of approvals to those countries who are required to meet their food security demands,” he said on Wednesday explaining India’s food export policy at the Ministerial Meeting on “Global Food Security Call to Action” convened by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
He added: “This will be done on the request from the concerned governments. Such a policy will ensure that we will truly respond to those who are most in need.”
India’s assurance came as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity, followed by malnutrition, mass hunger, and famine.”
The crisis has been exacerbated by supply disruptions from Ukraine and Russia, which, according to Guterres, “produce nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil.”
Muraleedharan’s assurance sought to dispel the impression created by some international media reports that India will not assist countries facing starvation as a result of export restrictions imposed last week.
Only future commercial transactions are subject to the restrictions.
“There should be no restrictions on exports,” the UN chief said, adding that “surpluses must be made available to those in greatest need.”
However, Union Minister Muraleedharan stated that “open markets must not become an argument to perpetuate inequity and promote discrimination” — approaches he claimed caused problems with Covid vaccine availability.
Wheat export restrictions were implemented solely “to manage our overall food security and to support the needs of neighbouring and other vulnerable developing countries,” he added.
When it came to assisting countries in distress, whether it was the Covid-19 pandemic or conflicts, India “has never been found wanting.”
“We have provided food aid in the form of thousands of metric tonnes of wheat, rice, pulses and lentils to several countries, including our neighbourhood and Africa, to strengthen their food security,” Muraleedharan said.
He went on to say that India had donated 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan, sent 10,000 tonnes of rice and wheat to Myanmar, and was assisting Sri Lanka.
“In keeping with our ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ which means ‘the world is one family,’ and our ‘Neighborhood First Policy,’ we will continue to assist our neighbours in their hour of need, and will always stand by them,” the Indian diplomat said.
Guterres urged that sanctions and restrictions not result in food shortages.
He said “there is no effective solution to the food crisis without reintegrating Ukraine’s food production, as well as the food and fertiliser produced by Russia and Belarus, into world markets — despite the war”.
With Moscow facing several sanctions, the UN Secretary-General said, “Russian food and fertilisers, must have unrestricted access to world markets without indirect impediments.”
But Russia must also “permit the safe and secure export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports,” he added.
Blinken said the allegations that sanctions on Russia were causing food shortages were “false”.
“When we imposed sanctions on Russia in order to end the war as quickly as possible, we deliberately and carefully created exceptions for agricultural goods and fertiliser,” he added.
Blinken asked “countries to step up with substantial new contributions to fill the gaps faced by humanitarian organisations and agencies that are battling food insecurity which are forcing humanitarian groups to make incredibly wrenching decisions about when and where to cut lifesaving assistance”.
Source:OCN
