Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov met with Turkey’s Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul on 16 October to discuss the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which established a humanitarian maritime corridor to allow ships to export grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine, and extension of the initiative after 22 November 2022.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
"Turkey’s Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar and I discussed the progress of the implementation of the ‘grain initiative.’ Over 7.7 million tons of agricultural products have already been exported since its launch, which has already stabilized food prices and countered the threat of global hunger. The participants in the ‘initiative,’ the United Nations, Turkey, and Ukraine have expressed their readiness to continue its operation and have promised to make maximum efforts to ensure its successful implementation. Currently, there is no doubt that the operation of the ‘grain corridor’ will continue after 22 November," Kubrakov is quoted as saying in the statement.
In addition, during the meeting, the Ukrainian infrastructure minister emphasized the importance of speeding up the process of ship inspections by the Joint Coordination Center.
"Thanks to this, it will be possible to increase the volume of grain exports to the countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe significantly, as well as to prevent queues at inspection sites," the ministry said in the statement.
