World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart warned that rising energy and food prices resulting from the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate food security concerns in the Middle East and Africa and fuel further unrest.
“There will be important ramifications for the Middle East, for Africa, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, in particular,” which had already been experiencing food insecurity,” adding, “I don’t want to be melodramatic, but it’s not a far stretch that food insecurity and riots were part of the story behind the Arab Spring,”
World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said.
The Arab Spring is a pro-democracy and revolutionary protest that has been taking place in the Middle East and North Africa since 2010. It began in Tunisia and then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain.
The current rise in food prices may lead to social unrest, as was the case in 2007-2008 and again in 2011 when food prices rose globally, leading to unrest in more than 40 countries
Germany will host an online meeting of G7 agriculture ministers on Friday, March 11, to discuss the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine on global food security.