Türkiye and Lithuania are contributing to global food security through the grain initiative, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Wednesday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Nauseda praised the Turkish government's assistance in brokering a key deal that facilitated Ukrainian grain exports to many countries, averting a global food crisis.
Last July, Türkiye, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports that were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.
More than 17 million tons of grain have been carried via the Black Sea grain corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative which Türkiye helped broker last year, according to the latest data from the Defense Ministry.
Nauseda said Lithuania has also been contributing to these export schemes as they have alternative channels of delivery of Ukrainian grain which travels through Poland and other countries to Baltic ports.
"So, we all are engaged, and this is very important to stay united," he said.
Pointing out that he has a "very good" personal relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, he said: "I am really looking forward to receiving him in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, at the NATO summit because Türkiye has been a very important member of NATO so far."
He also expects to see broader cooperation between the two countries in the future, saying: "This is not only about military cooperation because I see that there is a lot of potential to increase and expand cooperation in several areas."
Nauseda also recalled that Lithuanians launched crowdfunding to assist Ukraine to procure a TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for Ukraine but Türkiye's Baykar instead gifted it free of charge.
"People were so excited about this final result because the Turkish company decided just to deliver Bayraktar for free because they were very positive about this enthusiasm of Lithuanian people."
