To the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday , November 30, a ship arrived with 25 thousand tons of wheat from Russia. This is the first batch of free food aid that the Russian side has begun sending to African states.
The valuable cargo was met at the port by the Somali Interior Minister Ahmed Fiki, as well as the Russian Ambassador to Somalia and Djibouti Mikhail Golovanov. Fiki expressed gratitude to the Russian side for their support.
The grain was transferred to the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA).
In July, Russia refused to extend the Black Sea Food Initiative. One of the main reasons was that Western countries turned it from a humanitarian action into a business deal — the lion's share of food went to rich countries, while the poorest African countries received almost nothing.
Moscow stressed that it was ready to assist solving the global food problem. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia agrees to supply grain to poorer countries in cooperation with Turkey and possibly Qatar. Moscow plans to send 1 million tons of grain to Africa free of charge.