[Title] STATEMENT by the Council of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on food security

We, heads of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan express our deep concern regarding the current unfavourable situation in the sphere of global food security.

We believe that food security affects the very existence of humankind and the healthy functioning of the global economy. Ensuring food security is one of the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda Until 2030 and an important basis for economic development, social stability and national security.

We believe that the world is facing serious threats related to food security. Such factors as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and regional problems undermine global food production and supply chains. At the same time, unilateral restrictive measures are aggravating the global food crisis.

Taking into consideration the joint statement of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on food security (Dushanbe, 17 September 2021), we note our countries' contribution to the relevant mechanisms of cooperation in agriculture, maintaining regional and global food security, including by trading agricultural products and interacting in plants quarantine, smart agriculture, promotion of technologies, personnel training, as well as voluntary exchange of information on food security.

We urge the international community to follow multilateral approaches, take coordinated UN-led action, and facilitate the work of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the UN World Food Programme. We support the UN's decision to hold the International Year of Millets in 2023 as an innovative solution to counteract the global food crisis.

We stand for expanding the representativeness of international food and agriculture organisations as well as the voting rights of developing countries and those with emerging markets in them, and for improving global governance in food and agriculture. We note the positive role of global development and global security initiatives for international food security.

We support deepening international cooperation in food supply, implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, supporting the uninterrupted functioning of global food production and supply chains, and facilitating the rational global distribution of food resources to maintain the sustainability of the global food

market.

We suggest that all countries, on a voluntary basis, work to further strengthen

food security and improve the business environment in agriculture, and to facilitate international investment in the production and processing of agricultural products, agricultural machine-building and the development of cross-border trade.

We urge the main food producing and exporting countries to boost their own export capacity, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers in order to mitigate supply shortages and avoid excessive volatility in global food prices.

We note the unacceptability of unilateral restrictive measures that violate international law and have an extraterritorial character, leading to the destabilisation of the global food markets and threatening the long-term socioeconomic stability of mainly developing and least developed countries, as well as other factors that affect the volatility of global food prices, including the use of grain as biofuel.

We urge the international community to provide assistance to the developing and least developed countries by giving them access to capital and technology, developing their food security capacity, as well as providing urgent humanitarian aid to those who need it.

We underscore that all countries need to step up efforts to improve technologies for sustainable production and growing agricultural products by expanding cooperation to improve soil quality, encouraging countries to share experience of land improvement and soil management and expanding cooperation in the protection of plants from pests and diseases. It is necessary to facilitate the increased introduction of advanced agricultural technologies, as well as the sustainable and efficient development of the agricultural sector. We support the activity of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and international cooperation on agricultural science and technology innovations.

We stand for improving international cooperation in the monitoring and early prevention of natural disasters, providing assistance to increase access to agrometeorological services for developing countries, reducing the impact of natural disasters on agricultural production and improving its climate resilience.

We note the importance of continuing the work to reduce loss throughout food production and consumption chains, promoting reduced loss and food spoilage, as well as facilitating the introduction of scientific and technological innovations in this area.

We express readiness to continue our joint work with other countries on providing food security at the regional and global levels.

16 September 2022, Samarkand