SCHOOL ELMAU, GERMANY –
Canada pledged $ 50 million to prevent the waste of Ukrainian grain on Sunday, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to work with the G7 to take further measures to stem the famine caused by Russia’s invasion of the country.
The aftermath of the ongoing Russian offensive dominated the first day of talks between the leaders of the world’s most advanced economies, who gathered in Germany for three days of meetings.
Issues related to the invasion were the main topic of a four-day summit between the leaders of the British Commonwealth government, which ended on Saturday in Kigali, Rwanda, and are expected to be high on the agenda of the upcoming NATO summit in Madrid. Spain, which should start on Wednesday.
Canada pledged $ 50 million to prevent the waste of Ukrainian grain on Sunday, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to work with the G7 to take further measures to stem the famine caused by Russia’s invasion of the country.
The aftermath of the ongoing Russian offensive dominated the first day of talks between the leaders of the world’s most advanced economies, who gathered in Germany for three days of meetings.
Issues related to the invasion were the main topic of a four-day summit between the leaders of the British Commonwealth government, which ended on Saturday in Kigali, Rwanda, and are expected to be high on the agenda of the upcoming NATO summit in Madrid. Spain, which should start on Wednesday.
Global grain shortages are currently threatening vast parts of Africa with famine. Trudeau and other G-7 leaders blamed Russia for targeting grain silos in Ukraine to attack and restrict exports by blocking major ports in the country.
The first session of the leaders on Sunday focused on the global economy at a time when conflicts and unrest are leading to rising prices and access to key goods around the world.
In a statement issued the same day, Canada promised to send grain storage equipment to Ukraine so that it can store this year’s harvest and hopefully put it on the market.
This will include mobile silos, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibo said in an interview with Canada.
Other food storage is also affected. Last week in the Ukrainian port of Nikolaev, a vegetable oil storage facility owned by the Canadian-Dutch company Viterra was hit by a Russian missile strike.
“The Everi terminal processes vegetable oil used for 100% human consumption,” said Jeff Coquill, a spokesman for Regina-based Viterra.
“Fortunately, there were no deaths and we confirmed that one employee had received minor burns and received medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Canada hopes to have 44 percent more wheat production than last year, Bibo said, noting that the jump will increase supplies to the developing world, as well as to countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa that rely on Ukrainian grain.
She said the government and grain producers in Canada are “all hands on deck” to supply as much grain as possible to developing countries facing famine.
Trudeau promised that more progress would be made during the G7 negotiations.
The prime minister arrived in Germany early Sunday morning. He was greeted at Munich Airport by a musical welcome party, including former Liberal leader and Canadian ambassador to Germany Stefan Dion.
From there, he boarded a helicopter for Schloss Elmau, a luxurious, secluded solitude on top of a mountain in the Bavarian Alps, where the G-7 summit is taking place.
His first stop was a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who noted the unity that the G-7 countries have shown in the face of aggression against Ukraine.
The G7 and other nations have closed their ranks and imposed sanctions on Russia since the February invasion and collectively spent billions to send aid and weapons to the affected country.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by cutting access to his country’s natural gas supplies to some European countries, including Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
At a rally hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and United States President Joe Biden, Trudeau reaffirmed the G7’s commitment to withdrawing from fossil fuels.
He did not talk about Canada’s position on easing regulations to alleviate the immediate crisis and did not answer questions, but said in Rwanda on Saturday that leaders would have to discuss a solution.
“How we get there in the short term, how we build for the medium term, how we ensure that the long-term plan is covered is exactly what we will talk about in the next few days. “Not only with our colleagues, the G7 leaders, but with leaders from all over the world who will join us in Germany to tackle this very problem,” Trudeau told a news conference in Kigali on Saturday at the end of the meeting of the British Commonwealth.
India is not a G7 nation, but Scholz has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in the talks.
India, which is evolving as a growing market for Russian oil, abstained from voting in March at the UN to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Modi, meanwhile, declined to attend the British community summit and instead met virtually with leaders from Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa.
Trudeau said he had spoken to Scholz about the need to invest in infrastructure to help Europe give up Russian oil, adding that Canada could be part of the solution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address G7 leaders on the second day of the summit.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 26, 2022.
“With files from Marie Wolfe in Ottawa.”
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