Thank you so much, dear Annalena. I would like to also thank your Government for hosting this very timely conference.
For Romania, food security holds particular weight, given our vicinity and active interest in supporting our neighboring country. The illegal Russian aggression against Ukraine is causing millions of victims: not only among the Ukrainians suffering tremendous loss, but also among those that depend on grain imports from Ukraine.
We need to act together now, firmly and pragmatically, to prevent this crisis from further extending and to support Ukraine’s war-torn economy. In recent months, Romania has advocated for solutions at European and international level, while putting in action our own national mechanisms for providing direct support.
We are at the frontline of the international effort to prevent the deepening of the global food crisis. We are receiving Ukrainian grain by road, rail, sea and the Danube River. Since the start of the invasion, the Romanian Black Sea Port of Constanța, which is the largest port in the Black Sea, has become the main gateway for Ukrainian grain shipments to the outside world. We aim at positioning Constanța as a food hub at European level, and we are working to increase its processing capacity. Last year, we have shipped a record high of more than 25 million tons of grain.
In the case of Romania, a multidimensional and multi-institutional effort is ongoing to accelerate the transfer of Ukrainian grain through the Romanian territory, to different parts of the world. To this end, we started the modernization works of the wide-gauge railway line connecting Ukraine to the Romanian Port of Galați on the Danube, we liberalized the bilateral road transport and freight in transit with Ukraine, we took measures aimed at streamlining road traffic and we offered support in Romanian Ports to Ukrainian-flagged ships.
The measures taken by the Romanian authorities already have certain positive effects, but further international efforts are urgently needed. We must eventually ensure safe maritime transportation corridors through the Black Sea – the lack of which has the potential to further threaten food security and nutrition at a global scale. This also requires the protection against floating mines in the Black Sea waters, with the support of all interested parties.
Romania is fully committed to supporting consistent measures for mitigating all negative effects concerning global food security, stemming from the current geopolitical context, at EU and UN level. And we are also committed to the objectives of the Global Food Security Call to Action. Together with like-minded partners, Romania will continue to play an active role and have a solid contribution in helping Ukraine, in standing united against Russia, and in helping the most vulnerable.
Thank you so much!
Intervenția ministrului afacerilor externe Bogdan Aurescu în cadrul Conferinței, în format video, este disponibilă AICI.
