Hormuz crisis, Tajani: 'A coalition is born in Rome to deal with food security and fertilisers'

The 'Rome Coalition' for access to fertilisers and food security in the context of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is born. The initiative, involving European, African and Gulf countries, was launched on Thursday 7 May by Antonio Tajani. The Minister of Foreign Affairs co-chaired at the Farnesina, together with Croatian Foreign Minister Grlić-Radman in his capacity as rotating chair of the MED9 group, a ministerial meeting with some 40 remotely connected countries and regional and international organisations - including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League - to strengthen political coordination on food security and fertiliser access from the Strait of Hormuz.

For the FAO, Director-General Qu Dongyu and Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina attended. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has identified a number of possible responses to the crisis, including support for countries dependent on food imports through the Food Import Facility of the FAO (FIFF).

The meeting was a first moment of high-level political confrontation to discuss possible common lines of action, promote strengthened partnerships and support a multilateral approach to emerging challenges. The Rome Coalition is part of the MED9+ format, to enhance the role of the enlarged Mediterranean as a strategic space for dialogue, cooperation and convergence between Europe, the Arab world and the Western Balkans. A format that Minister Tajani has proposed to make permanent.

In his opening speech, Tajani outlined the current scenario. "Approximately 30 per cent of the global trade in fertilisers, which are essential for agriculture, passes through the Strait of Hormuz," he explained. The blockade is creating huge effects with transport and insurance costs rising, putting great pressure on the global accessibility of food. The effects of this blockade, the minister added, affect all countries 'but we are concerned about the most fragile regions and countries, especially in Africa, such as Sudan. Agriculture is crucial for stability in the region and this crisis could create new tensions and new migration flows'. To this end, Tajani assured, 'we firmly support the initiative of the FAO, which has been a great partner in key Italian programmes such as Food for Gaza, to bring humanitarian aid to the Strip and also to Sudan. Our cooperation with the FAO is intense and based on a common vision,' the minister continued, 'to fight hunger and poverty; to support rural development and the transformation of food systems around the world. To this end 'we are ready to make the know-how of our companies available, for example in intelligent agriculture'. According to Tajani, the priorities are clear: 'diversification of supply chains; investment in local production; more reliable and predictable logistical routes'. But an essential prerequisite and 'a crucial condition is peace,' Tajani added. 'We are working hard to promote dialogue, peace and de-escalation.

 "Since today's Med9 meeting," the head of the Farnesina stressed, "the countries of the European Union bordering the Mediterranean, plus the Balkan countries, plus the countries of the Gulf area and the countries of North Africa and the Arab League set up a coalition that will deal with food security and fertilisers so that, through Hormuz, once there is a lasting cease-fire, fundamental tools can arrive for so many populations, especially those in Africa who are in difficulty, but our agriculture also needs fertilisers. We have set up a permanent working group that will follow minute by minute the evolution of the solution in order to give concrete answers and allow our agriculture and especially the different countries in the area to be able to have the necessary supplies through Hormuz," the minister added.