Skopje, 25 June 2022 (MIA) – Ahead of the G7 Summit, governments, international and regional organizations, multilateral development banks, NGOs and philanthropists gathered in Berlin to unite for global food security, and critically review the progress made in joint efforts to overcome the global food security crisis and join forces to make progress in this endeavor. Agriculture Minister Ljupcho Nikolovski participated in the conference and addressed the forum, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy said in a press release. The presented reports by the United Nations Secretary General Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance show a dramatic picture: out of 1.7 billion people in 107 crisis-hit countries, 1.2 billion will be exposed to limited finance, price hikes in food and energy. Participants shared the belief that this multidimensional crisis requires joint and effective global response that combines diplomacy, humanitarian aid, development cooperation, as well as agricultural and food policies. They welcomed the leadership of the United Nations Secretary-General to coordinate efforts to overcome the crisis through the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance. In addition, they welcomed the G7 response to the crisis, including the launch of the Alliance for Global Food Security and the essential preparations for the forthcoming G7 Summit. The Alliance for Global Food Security is designed to be a key platform to encourage cooperation, guided by the common belief that everyone must work together to overcome this storm. Seeing that the global crisis requires a global response, the participants committed to establishing strong partnerships as part of the Alliance for Global Food Security and beyond, to ensure no one is left behind. The participants urged Russia to immediately end the war in Ukraine, end threats and blockades of Ukrainian ports and all other activities that hinder the production and export of Ukrainian food, putting the lives of millions across the world at risk. All participants pledged to continue support for Ukraine in maintaining its agricultural production, storage, transport and processing, and to develop additional export routes and work on solutions so that grain doesn’t end up in waste. CSOs present at the conference voiced readiness to contribute with their experience in developing adequate long-term solutions for this purpose. A conclusion was reached that farmers need to adapt to climate change to protect food security. In addition, sustainable agricultural production should even contribute to global climate protection, biodiversity, avoiding adverse environmental impact, and strengthen the implementation of agri-environmental and regenerative practices, as well as access to digital options for farmers. In order to mitigate the implications of the next crisis, participants showed readiness to strengthen information sharing and early warning capacities, including the provision of additional resources. The message from today’s conference is that only a strong and well-functioning multilateral system will be key to achieving the goals.