One quote from Pope Francis, another one from Cicero: in her speech at the opening ceremony of the United Nations Summit on Food Systems that began yesterday at the FAO building in Rome, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated all the cornerstones of her government's foreign policy. "For three days," she said, "Rome will become the World Capital of Food Security: a choice that pays tribute to Italy's traditional commitment to this crucial issue. In fact, food security has always been one of the strategic directions of our foreign policy and a priority area of Italian development cooperation. This is one of the greatest challenges of our time, in this completely interconnected world". "While we were working to overcome the impact of the pandemic and rebuild global trade flows, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine disrupted global energy prices and helped unleash waves of inflation around the world, at the expense of the most vulnerable nations, especially in the global South," the Prime Minister recalled. "The war has exacerbated old and new problems. These include food insecurity in many African nations, already tested by long periods of drought and harsh weather conditions, which are now weaker and easier prey for terrorism and fundamentalism. The war has had a major impact on grain distribution around the world, and Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative is further exacerbating the global food security crisis. We will continue to support all efforts to revive this key initiative and are urging Russia to reconsider its decision".
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