President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered a speech at the Global Food Security Summit on September 20 in New York, QazMonitor reports citing the presidential press service.
Tokayev began by saying that ensuring food security is one of the most urgent problems facing the world today. According to him, since the last summit in 2019, the number of people facing severe food insecurity has increased from 135 million to 345 million.
He continued to assure that Kazakhstan will remain a reliable supplier of grain and basic food provisions to the global market. He also called for expanding cooperation in various humanitarian projects with the Islamic Organisation for Food Security and UN institutions in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Another key point of his speech was the importance of excluding food and fertilizers from all sanctions and restrictions as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ensuring a steady stream of food supplies to the poorest countries.
The Kazakh leader also drew attention to the Trans-Caspian international transport corridor, highlighting that the volume of freight traffic through Kazakhstan will significantly increase in the coming years. During the coming winter season Kazakhstan can alleviate existing shortages of energy resources and critical commodities for countries in need, he said.
In his concluding statement, Tokayev addressed the challenges of climate change and the structural vulnerability of food systems. He stressed that Kazakhstan is capable of building a global sustainable supply chain as an international transit hub.