• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday that his country was “changing” its policy toward Africa.
• Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit African countries “in the autumn”.
• The Ukrainian president also stated that Ukraine was ready to be a guarantor of food security for African countries.

Ukraine’s policy toward Africa is “changing” as it seeks to strengthen ties with African countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday.

“We in Ukraine are changing this policy. … We want to expand our ties. It is very important for us. We also strive to find different areas for investment,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky also added that Ukraine was “ready to be a guarantor of food security in African countries.”

“I believe that the African continent is an underestimated territory, underestimated countries and the potential of people. Because I know how underestimated our region and our people are,” Zelensky said.

“And now, due to the blocking of the ports, the whole world saw how much Ukraine has done and how much it can do,” he added.

Turkey, Egypt, Somalia, Congo, and Tanzania are among the most reliant on Ukrainian and Russian wheat, and Eritrea purchased the grain exclusively from both countries in 2021.

The Ukrainian president stated that his country had already begun to change its approach to Africa prior to the start of the Russian invasion, and that Ukraine had since appointed a special representative for the Middle East and Africa.

He claimed that previous Ukrainian diplomacy had “forgotten” about Africa, and that Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba would visit African countries “in the autumn.”

Nonetheless, while the UN-brokered agreement to lift Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports has lowered grain prices, experts say the late shipments from Ukraine are no quick fix to the food crisis, which has been exacerbated by years of pandemic-related disruptions, the climate crisis, conflict, food export restrictions, and spiralling costs.

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