Ukrainian premier, UN relief chief discuss de-mining programs, grain corridor

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday discussed de-mining programs in the country and the Black Sea grain corridor with the UN under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

“Glad to meet Martin Griffiths in Ukraine. We talked about launching demining programmes, supporting SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and running the grain corridor. The UN will focus on helping Ukrainians in the war zone. Thank you for your continued support,” Shmyhal said on Twitter.

He also noted that the UN has provided more than $4.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukrainians, in addition to sharing details regarding actions to be taken by Ukraine and the UN in the humanitarian sphere, which revolve around de-mining, assistance to displaced persons, recovery of infrastructure, assistance to frontline communities, and support of small and medium-sized businesses.

Separately, Shmyhal also said that Ukraine calls on partners to support the proposal to expand the Ukraine grain deal to the ports of Mykolaiv and Olvia, according to a statement from the Ukrainian government, which added that “554 ships with 13.9 million tons of Ukrainian food have already been sent to countries in Africa, Asia and Europe” as part of the grain deal over the past four and a half months.

For his part, Griffiths said that the UN wants to help Ukraine "restart its economy, get the private sector back on its feet and increase the number of jobs," according to the statement.

"Griffiths also emphasized the importance of the implementation of de-mining programs and assistance to Ukrainians in the frontline communities in order to enable them to return to life there," it said.

Griffiths arrived in Ukraine on Monday for a four-day visit during which he visited the cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv.