February 22. The First Regular Session of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) began its work in video format (due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic).

In his opening remarks, Programme Executive Director David Beasley highlighted the exponential growth in the need for humanitarian and food assistance on a planetary scale, which is directly related to the increase in the number of conflicts that have become more frequent due to climate change, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. The total number of people in need of emergency food aid has reached more than 300 million people. In this regard, the Executive Director urged donor countries to allocate additional budgetary funds to finance the Program, including through the development of cooperation with the private sector, international financial institutions, as well as the conversion of public debt into development projects.

The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) P.Maurer joined the session as special guest. He noted the need to strengthen global international efforts in the aspect of humanitarian assistance. Above all, Mr.Maurer highly praised the level of interaction between the ICRC and the WFP and congratulated David Beasley on the award of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to his organization.

In his speech, the Head of the Russian Delegation at the session of the WFP Executive Council in 2021, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to FAO and other UN Agencies in Rome Victor L.Vasiliev drew attention to the need to preserve the non-politicized nature of the Program's work while unconditionally observing the fundamental principles of humanitarian aid.

He reaffirmed Russia's course towards building up the strategic nature of cooperation with WFP, both in terms of expanding the geography and the forms of assistance provided. He also welcomed the Program's interaction with the ICRC in flashpoints, incl. in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Russian representative expressed his condolences to the Italian Government, the family of the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luca Attanasio, as well as to the relatives and colleagues of the WFP employee who died in the armed attack on a UN convoy in this African country.