Switzerland welcomes arrival of grain ship in Türkiye

ISTANBUL

Switzerland Monday hailed a shipment of Ukrainian grain arriving at a Turkish port under a landmark deal brokered by Türkiye and the UN.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a Twitter statement that the country welcomes the arrival in Türkiye of "the first shipment carrying 12,000 tons of grain from Ukraine."

"The implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative is crucial for global food security and provides much-needed relief to the population," it added.

The Turkish-flagged ship Polarnet carrying 12,000 tons of corn arrived at the port of Derince in northern Türkiye on Monday morning, three days after setting off from Ukraine on Friday.

On July 22, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to reopen three Ukrainian Black Sea ports for exports of Ukrainian grain long stuck due to the war with Russia, now in its sixth month.

To oversee the process, a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul was officially launched on July 27 with representatives from the three countries and the UN to enable safe transportation of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers by merchant ships.

Since the first departure on Aug. 1, a total of 10 ships carrying over 300,000 tons of grain have left Ukrainian ports under the deal, which many believe is helping ease a growing global food crisis.