Poland in the OECD

22nd of August is the fourth International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, established by the UN General Assembly on Poland’s initiative.

On 14 July, in The Hague, Minister Rau took part in a ministerial conference on coordinating international efforts to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its atrocities in Ukraine (“Accountability for Ukraine – Enhancing coordination of action to deliver justice”).

The main themes of this year’s Conference of Ambassadors of the Republic of Poland were the unprecedented and multi-dimensional challenges resulting from Russia’s attack against Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, consequences for the international order, and conclusions that Polish diplomacy must draw from these crises.

On 5 May, the National Stadium in Warsaw hosted an International Donors’ Conference, organised on the initiative of Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and attended either in person or online by heads of states and governments of 21 countries, humanitarian organisations, financial institutions as well as representatives of the global business community.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy were the focus of today’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. EU foreign ministers also met with their counterparts from Iceland and Norway to discuss further joint measures to respond to Russian aggression. Poland was represented by Undersecretary of State Marcin Przydacz acting on behalf of Minister Zbigniew Rau.

Until this morning, Poland’s border with Ukraine was crossed by a total of 500,000 people. In the current situation of emergency, it is only natural that Poland is being chosen by those seeking refuge: not only Ukrainians but also the citizens of virtually every country, including students from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Today, Poland has started its one-year Chairmanship at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Thus, our country is assuming a greater role in shaping security and stabilisation on the European continent in the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act, whose 50th anniversary we will be celebrating in 2025.