Referring to crises in Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, Deputy Minister Jabłoński pointed out the need to continue providing the humanitarian aid and to maintain the international community’s interest in the situation in these countries. The deputy minister emphasised that the situation in Afghanistan and other countries experiencing difficulties can lead to an outbreak of an uncontrolled migration crisis, which can destabilise not only their immediate vicinity, but also have a negative impact on security in Europe. In this context, the MFA deputy head also spoke of the current situation at the Polish-Belarusian border.

During the discussion on the role of water in development assistance, Deputy Minister Jabłoński said that it is a particularly important issue in regions such as Central Asia, which are struggling with water scarcity and its poor quality. He noted that difficulties in access to water can increase migratory pressure in different parts of the world. He also recalled that efforts to provide access to clean water, improve sanitary conditions and hygiene are among key priorities of Poland’s development assistance.

During the discussion with Samantha Power, Deputy Minister Jabłoński expressed his hope that the development cooperation with the United States will be further enhanced, in particular with respect to the Eastern Partnership. The deputy minister also spoke about the role of transatlantic cooperation in counteracting illegal migration, the effects of which Poland is currently facing. Samantha Power outlined the key areas of US-European cooperation in the field of development assistance. Administrator Power emphasised the importance of emerging donors in development assistance, such as the V4 countries or Croatia, citing Poland’s development assistance efforts in Moldova as a positive example.

On the subject of vaccine sharing, Deputy Minister Jabłoński supported the proposal to intensify efforts by the EU and individual member states to share their vaccines with developing countries more effectively. The MFA deputy head recalled that Poland has been one of the most active countries in this respect, having either donated or sold without profit about 13 million vaccines to entities in several dozen countries. Poland will also coordinate the distribution of vaccines from the EU to the Eastern Partnership countries. The talks on this matter with the European Commission should be concluded soon.

During the meeting, the Council approved conclusions on water in the EU’s external action and on European public sector expertise in the EU's external action.

 

MFA Press Office