“Latvia Increases Support for Developing Countries Affected by Russia’s Aggression in Ukraine: EU Council Discusses Food Security and Multilateral Development Bank Reform”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has increased support for developing countries affected by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, Parliamentary Secretary of the MFA Gunda Reire (JV) said at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) on development cooperation issues.

The main issue on the meeting’s agenda was the global impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine on world food security. The representatives of the EU member states also discussed international current affairs – support for Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, as well as the reform of multilateral development banks.

As the parliamentary secretary emphasized in the discussion on the global consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, in order to deal with the global consequences of Russia’s aggression in developing countries, Latvia has increased support for issues related to the food crisis, for example by sharing expertise and innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture and the implementation of EU standards in water management. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also increased support for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in partner countries and supported the initiative of the President of Ukraine to export Ukrainian grain to less developed countries.”

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary General Rebecca Greenspan, who also heads the UN Global Crisis Response Group on food, energy and finance, participated in the discussion on food security. Greenspan informed about the work done by the crisis response group, as well as the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The meeting continued the discussion on the reform of multilateral development banks. In order to address the global challenges caused by climate change, poverty, pandemics and conflicts, the active involvement of multilateral development banks – as the largest financiers of developing countries – is required. The goal of the reform is to increase the readiness and capacity of multilateral development banks to help developing countries, while maintaining the long-term financial sustainability of multilateral development banks and their AAA credit rating.

The meeting took place in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on Thursday, May 4.

Issues of development cooperation and humanitarian aid are considered in the format of development cooperation of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. The meetings are chaired by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell. Meetings are usually held semi-annually.