V4 foreign ministers on opportunities for closer cooperation within international organisations
14.05.2021
“We have discussed the possibilities of enhancing the Visegrad cooperation at the forum of international organisations, going beyond the scope of coordination of positions, which has been tried and tested over the years at the forum of the European Union. I have also presented Poland’s proposals related to potential specific initiatives at the forum of the UN, the OECD, and international financial institutions,” said Minister Rau after the meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4).
The V4 heads of diplomacy met in Łódź on 14 May 2021 under Poland’s presidency of the Group.
The ministers summed up the cooperation to date, expressing its positive assessment, prompted by the 30th anniversary of the Visegrad cooperation celebrated in 2021. In this context, they reviewed the implementation of provisions of the political declaration adopted during the anniversary Visegrad Group summit held in Kraków in February this year. Minister Rau reminded that the declaration is one of the most extensive documents in the V4’s history adopted at the level of prime ministers. It defines specific areas of V4’s cooperation, ranging from social, economic and innovation issues to sustainable development, environmental protection, energy and transport, as well as cooperation on internal and external security and the international agenda, emphasised Zbigniew Rau.
The officials also exchanged views on the possibilities of further enhancing V4’s cooperation in the area of economic diplomacy and new technologies, in particular in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. “The V4 as a group, as well as our individual countries, show great potential in these areas. It is worth exploiting it adequately,” stressed Minister Rau.
The ministers also discussed current priorities of the Group’s cooperation from the perspective of foreign ministers, as well as general programme guidelines of the upcoming Hungarian presidency of the V4, starting on 1 July 2021. The heads of diplomacy also talked about key issues in the area of the European Union’s external relations.
Minister Zbigniew Rau pointed out that cooperation with the Western Balkan countries is very important for Poland and other V4 states. He also announced that a meeting of foreign ministers in the V4+ Western Balkans formula will be organised in Poznań in June this year.
MFA Press Office
Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA
Video: Gabriel Piętka / MFA
