Ukraine war impact on food, energy security focus as Jaishankar meets UN chief

At the meeting between foreign minister S Jaishankar and UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday, the Ukraine war, its global impact and the Afghanistan crisis came up for a discussion.

The world has been on an edge ever since the war started in Ukraine on February 24. India has repeatedly urged for the cessation of violence, and most recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised concerns with US president Joe Biden.

“A wide ranging discussion with UNSG @antonioguterres. Exchanged views on the global impact of the Ukraine conflict, especially on food and energy security. Implications for developing countries are serious. (sic)” the foreign minister tweeted.

In another post, he wrote: “Spoke about the latest developments in respect of Afghanistan and Myanmar. Appreciate his interest in working with India to effectively address important contemporary challenges (sic).”

The meeting comes days after India and the US held 2+2 ministerial talks where, apart from bilateral ties, the Ukraine conflict was also a matter of discussion.

As questions came up about India’s Russian energy imports, S Jaishankar underlined that “every country needs to look for its energy security”. He also said that India’s monthly Russian energy import was “less than Europe’s in an afternoon”. The comment drew wide praise.

The Ukraine war enters the 51st day on Friday and the UN has warned the conflict will affect small countries.

Earlier this week, PM Modi had said that India was ready to supply food stocks to the world if the WTO (World Trade Organization) permitted.