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Polish FM in US lobbies for UN Security Council seat

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 21.03.2017 11:48
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski is on a three-day trip to the US to seek support for a non-permanent seat for Poland on the UN Security Council.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski with the UN's Jeffrey Feltman. Photo: MSZPolish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski with the UN's Jeffrey Feltman. Photo: MSZ

“My visit to the United States is another element of the campaign supporting Poland’s candidature for the Security Council in 2018-2019. The election will take place on 2 June, which gives us two months to acquire additional votes,” Waszczykowski said.

He added that Poland’s aim is to obtain support from as many United Nations member states as possible.

As part of the campaign, Waszczykowski met Jeffrey Feltman, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. Their conversation in New York included Poland's priorities for membership of the Security Council.

They agreed that greater cooperation between the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission is needed to help prevent future global conflicts. The meeting also covered Poland's position on the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in North Korea, and the current challenges facing the EU.

Waszczykowski also spoke about the Polish candidacy for the Security Council with the ambassadors of the countries of Southeast Asia (ASEAN).

“ASEAN is a region that is both politically and economically important. Such meetings clearly show that there are many issues that connect us – I will mention here only the threat of terrorism or the negative effects of climate change,” Waszczykowski said.

On Monday evening, Waszczykowski and Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Amina Mohammed, and Cristina Gallach, the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, opened an exhibition at the UN headquarters devoted to the revitalisation of the Polish city of Łódź entitled titled “Łódź. Revitalisation. Polska. New Public Life”.

At the opening of the exhibition, which presents the history of the modernisation of post-industrial districts of Łódź, Waszczykowski presented the candidature of the city to host the International EXPO 2022 exhibition.

Łódź is competing to host the EXPO in 2022 – which is devoted to urban regeneration – with Buenos Aires and Minneapolis. The decision on where an exhibition will be held will be made in November 2017.

On Tuesday, Waszczykowski will meet the head of the United Nations General Assembly, Peter Thomson. The two are set to talk about climate issues and preparations for the 2018 COP24 conference in Poland.

Waszczykowski then goes on a two-day visit to Washington, DC, where he will attend the Global Coalition against Daesh meeting at the State Department headquarters.

(rg/pk)

Source: Polish Foreign Ministry

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