The ministerial was dedicated to building peace and security in the Middle East. It was co-hosted by Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and held in Warsaw on 13 and 14 February with the participation of 65 delegations, including representatives of Arab states and Israel. In his address opening Thursday’s debates, Minister Jacek Czaputowicz stressed that our country has never been indifferent to the needs of the peoples living in the Middle East.
“We believe that Poland has a special right to serve the international community as a place of an all-around dialogue,” explained the chief of Polish diplomacy. He indicated that our country as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council has a special responsibility to engage in actions leading to preserving and ensuring peace. He added that Poland is also where the “Solidarność” movement was born that triggered peaceful change of the political system. “This path was later followed by other countries of our region which has led to a spectacular end of the Cold War. We believe that our experiences can be of great value for other regions,” said the MFA head.

The conference participants discussed the security situation in the Middle East region, specifically in Yemen and Syria, as well as the international efforts to end the ongoing conflicts in these countries. Initial assumptions of the plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute prepared by the US Administration were presented. Humanitarian issues were an important topic of the conference. They were also discussed by US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The conference ended with the co-chairs statement on the establishment international working groups that will drive momentum toward concrete solutions in the following areas: countering terrorism and its illicit financing, proliferation of ballistic missiles, maritime and aviation security, cybersecurity, energy security, humanitarian issues and issues related to refugees and human rights. The aim of these groups will be to work out a positive vision of development of the whole region.

The day before, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, introductions to the debate were made by Polish President Andrzej Duda and US Vice President Mike Pence.

 

 

MFA Press Office

Photo Tymon Markowski / MSZ