Canada promised $ 50 million on Sunday to prevent Ukrainian grain from being wasted. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to work with G7 countries on further measures to stop the famine caused by Russia’s invasion of embarrassed countries.
The collapse of the ongoing Russian offensive dominated the first day of talks between leaders of the world’s most developed countries gathered in Germany, the equivalent of a three-day meeting.
Issues related to the aggression are the main subject of the four-day summit among federal leaders who closed in Kigali, Rwanda on Saturday, and could promote the agenda at the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. It is expected. on wednesday.
Global grain shortages are now threatening vast parts of Africa with famine. Trudeau and other G7 leaders have blamed Russia head-on for targeting Ukraine’s grain storage silos and restricting exports by blocking major domestic ports.
Sunday’s first session focused on the global economy in an era when conflict and anxiety are pushing prices and access to key commodities around the world.
In an announcement released on the same day, Canada has promised to ship grain storage equipment to Ukraine so that it can store this year’s harvest and hopefully bring it to market.
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibaud said in an interview from Canada that this would include mobile silos.
Other food stores were affected as well. Last week, a vegetable oil storage facility owned by Canadian and Dutch company Vitera was hit by a Russian missile at the Ukrainian port Mykolaiv.
“The Everi Terminal processes vegetable oils that are used 100% for human food consumption,” said Jeff Cockwill, a spokesman for Viterra based in Regina.
“Fortunately, no one died. We confirmed that one employee suffered a minor burn and was seen by a doctor.
Meanwhile, Canada wants wheat production to increase by 44% compared to last year, Bibaud said, and the surge will increase supply not only to developing countries, but also to countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Said that it depends on Ukrainian grains.
She said the government and Canadian grain producers are “hands-on” to deliver as much grain as possible to developing countries facing hunger.
Trudeau promised to see further progress during the G7 negotiations.
The Prime Minister arrived in Germany early Sunday morning. He was greeted at the Munich airport with a music welcome party that included a former liberal leader and Stephane Dion, the Canadian ambassador to Germany.
From there he boarded a helicopter to Schloss Ermau, a hideaway on the luxurious, secluded summit of the Bavarian Alps, where the G7 Summit is taking place.
His first stop was a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the unification that the G7 countries had shown in the face of the invasion of Ukraine.
Since the invasion of February, the G7 and other nations have closed their ranks against Russia, issued sanctions, and spent billions of dollars sending aid and weapons to needy countries.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has retaliated by reducing access to his natural gas supply in several European countries, including Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
Hosted by German Prime Minister Olav Schortz and US President Joe Biden, Trudeau strengthened the G7’s commitment to the transition from fossil fuels.
He did not talk or ask about Canada’s position to ease regulations to mitigate the imminent crisis, but said in Rwanda on Saturday that leaders need to discuss a solution.
“The way we get there in the short term, build in the medium term, and ensure long-term coverage is just to discuss in the next few days. Not just our peers, Trudeau said. At a press conference in Kigari on Saturday at the end of the Federal Summit, we are the leader of the G7 Summit, but with leaders from around the world who will join us in Germany to tackle this issue. ” Said.
India is not a G7 country, but Schortz has called on the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the talks.
India, which has developed as a growing market for Russia’s oil, has abstained from a March vote at the United Nations to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Modi opted out of attending the Federal Summit and instead met virtually with leaders from Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa.
Trudeau told Schortz about the need to invest in infrastructure to help pull Europe away from Russia’s oil, saying adding Canada could be part of the solution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the G7 leaders on the second day of the summit.
