Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken recently spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the importance of protecting principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to a release by the U.S. State Department’s Principle Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel, the discussion comes as Russia and Ukraine continue their war. Blinken thanked Guterres for helping to strengthen the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He also spoke about concerns regarding Russia’s efforts to hinder Ukrainian food exports.

“Good conversation today with @UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres on sustaining the life-saving Black Sea Grain Initiative. I also raised restrictions placed on women and girls in Afghanistan," Blinken said in an April 5 Twitter post.

According to U.S. Aid, the Black Sea Grain Initiative improves food security and reduces hunger globally. It was launched by the U.N. World Food Programme in 2020 in collaboration with governments and private sector partners in the Black Sea region. 

The Black Sea Grain Initiative facilitates the export of grain and agricultural products from countries in the region like Ukraine to other countries in need, according to U.S. Aid. These countries are mostly in need of food security. The initiative has a goal to deliver grain directly to lower-income countries, which brings down food prices and reduces hunger.

More than 380 vessels have shipped more than 8.6 million tons of life saving food exports from ports in Ukraine to 37 countries, U.S. Aid reported. Also, more than 2 million metric tons of food have been exported to countries highly susceptible to hunger like Kenya, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Ethiopia and Somalia. 

Through the Black Sea Grain Initiative, more than a million metric tons of wheat have been transported from Ukraine to low and lower-middle-income countries, according to U.S. Aid. This is the equivalent of about 3 billion loaves of bread.

According to a UN release, the Taliban put constraints on women working with the UN. This comes after a ban in December that prohibits women from attending universities, according to an NPR report.

Blinken expressed his appreciation for the work of UN professionals helping the Afghan people, according to the State Department release.