Despite the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine’s government on Wednesday expressed its willingness to establish grain hubs in Nigeria and other African countries in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties.
The announcement was made as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Policy of Ukraine, Mykola Solsky, was leading a delegation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohamed Abubakar, in Abuja.
Onyeama praised Ukraine’s grain donation, adding that the gesture took place even when the country was still at war.
He noted, “Despite the situation your country is in, you can extend a hand of friendship not only to Nigeria but also to other African countries. It shows extraordinary courage and we really admire your generosity, we thank you for that support.”
However, Onyeama lamented that some of the victims of the war in Ukraine are the large number of Nigerian students whose studies were interrupted by the war.
He added, “I have created real expertise in many disciplines, and Nigerian students are the beneficiaries. We can continue to strengthen the ties between our two countries and our peoples. We will do our best multilaterally to end the war very quickly.”
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Furthermore, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abubakar told the meeting that Nigeria is ready and very willing to provide suitable ports for the country’s grain hub.
Abubakar said: “We thank and commend you for finding time, despite the war, to express a gesture of friendship to Nigeria and also to donate grain. I can assure you that relations with Ukraine will improve, we have business with Ukraine, especially Ukraine .”
The agricultural sector and I can say that more than 30% of our agricultural business is with Ukraine, especially in the area of wheat, fertilizers, and other grains, and I can assure you that this will further improve our relations.
Abubakar added that the aim of the grain centers is to have a hub where Ukraine brings grain and Nigeria helps other African countries, which can be helpful in an emergency and even donate to other countries.
Noting that Ukraine has the technology and expertise to help Nigeria in wheat production, the Minister of Agriculture emphasized that capacity building will be part of the relationship, which will create a win-win situation.
In turn, the Ukrainian minister said that grain from his country will arrive in Nigeria next month, through an initiative called “Grains from Ukraine”.
