MINSK, 3 July (BelTA) – Belarus would like to see more active involvement of the “SCO family” in addressing global food security issues that were largely caused by unilateral coercive measures (sanctions), Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in an interview with the international news agency Kazinform in the run-up to the SCO summit in Astana, BelTA has learned.
“One of the obvious consequences of the illegal sanctions is the worsening hunger crisis in the world,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
He noted that restrictions on the transit of Belarusian potash fertilizers (they account for about 20% of global supply) triggered a serious spike in prices for this product. “As a result, many countries could no longer afford it, which had a disastrous impact on the quality and volume of harvests,” the head of state remarked.
According to the UN, one in five people across 59 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2023. More than 280 million people around the world experience acute hunger, with over 36 million children under 5 years of age acutely malnourished across 32 countries. The proportion of the world population facing chronic hunger has increased from 10% to 20% in seven years.
“Therefore, Belarus, together with the SCO countries, is ready to consistently implement the anti-sanctions strategies laid down in the Samarkand Declaration and the decisions of the upcoming SCO summit,” the Belarusian leader noted.
