Ramaphosa discusses food security in call with Putin
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss food security and fertilizers
The Presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa and Putin had a telephonic conversation on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the conversation also included issues around trade and investment in the runup to the BRICS summit.
The summit will be hosted by China virtually next week.
“The leaders also noted the importance of joint work within BRICS in order to further promote the role of this association in global politics and economics,” said Magwenya.
The Kremlin said Ramaphosa had initiated the call – the second conversation between the two leaders since the invasion of Ukraine in February.
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"Issues of food security, including supplies of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the African continent, in particular to South Africa, were discussed in detail," the statement read.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is causing major disruptions to supply chains, resulting in price hikes for food and agricultural products including wheat and fertilizers.
Africa had been acutely affected by the shortages with African Union president Macky Sall also engaging with Putin to address the looming crisis.
Ramaphosa has maintained a neutral position that negotiations can end the military operations in Ukraine.