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Polish PM, Saudi gov't minister discuss Ukrainian grain in Warsaw

09.05.2023 08:00
Poland is in talks with Saudi Arabia to use some of the Ukrainian grain that has entered Poland for humanitarian aid, officials have said.
Polish Prime Mateusz Morawiecki and Saudi Arabias Economy and Planning Minister Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim meet in Warsaw on Monday, May 8, 2023.
Polish Prime Mateusz Morawiecki and Saudi Arabia's Economy and Planning Minister Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim meet in Warsaw on Monday, May 8, 2023.Photo: Polish Prime Minister's Office/KPRM

On Monday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki discussed the plan with the Saudi Minister of the Economy and Planning, Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim, during a meeting in Warsaw, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said that using some of the Ukrainian grain that has arrived in Poland in recent months for humanitarian purposes "could be one of the ways to resolve the crisis caused by duty-free imports of agricultural products from Ukraine."

Müller told reporters that Morawiecki and Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim "talked about exporting part of the grain for humanitarian aid" when they met in Warsaw on Monday.

He added that the meeting "also concerned energy security and potential Saudi investment" in Poland.

The Polish Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet that the talks focused on bilateral cooperation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Morawiecki in March met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Middle Eastern country's capital Riyadh and hailed Saudi Arabia as a “vital partner” as Poland seeks to diversify its sources of oil supplies.

The talks at the time focused on "energy cooperation, renewable energy and the export of food from Poland, among other topics," according to officials.

A Polish deputy foreign minister said last month that the government in Warsaw was in talks with countries in Africa and the Middle East about increasing grain exports as it seeks to free up storage space ahead of this year’s harvest, amid an influx of Ukrainian grain.

Tuesday is day 440 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP