ANKARA

The 9th G-20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit on Friday hailed the role of Türkiye in the Black Sea grain deal last year that allowed transportation of more than 30.5 million tons of grains since Aug. 1, 2022.

“We appreciate the efforts of Türkiye and UN-brokered Istanbul agreements … and the initiative on the safe transportation of grain and foodstuffs from Ukrainian ports, and call for their full, timely and effective implementation to ensure the immediate and unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizers/inputs from the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” said a joint statement issued on Friday after a meeting of the G-20 parliament speakers in New Delhi.

“This is necessary to meet the demand in developing and least developed countries, particularly those in Africa.”

Stating that “we highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation, and growth, which has complicated the policy environment for countries…,” the statement added: “There were different views and assessments of the situation.”

Last year, the UN and Türkiye brokered the grain deal that allowed Ukraine to ship grain via the Black Sea and succeeded in bringing down global food prices.

Russia refused to extend the grain deal, complaining that the West had not met its obligations and that there were still restrictions on its own food and fertilizer exports. Moscow was particularly critical of the restrictions on payments, logistics, and insurance.

On the Ukraine war, it said: “All states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible.”

Earlier in the day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for overcoming the “global trust crisis” and moving forward with “human-centric thinking.”

Modi inaugurated the 9th G-20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) in India’s capital New Delhi under the broader framework of India’s G-20 Presidency with the theme of “Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

Addressing the gathering, the premier said: “A world full of conflict and confrontation is in no one’s interest, and a divided world cannot provide solutions to the major challenges facing humanity.”

Canadian Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne stayed away from the summit amid an India-Canada diplomatic row.