Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation Promoting East-East Cooperation UNDP Regional Workshop - Bratislava REPUBLIC OF POLAND

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 2 CONTENTS  Introduction  Current status of national development cooperation activities  Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA  Partnerships for development cooperation  Recent UNDP assistance to Poland as a Development Partner

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 3 Introduction  Poland supports further cooperation between UN, OECD, WTO and the Bretton Woods institutions.  Poland’s obligation to provide development assistance is determined by our own experience. Significant foreign economic assistance in early 1990s as debt reduction and technical assistance made introduction of economic reforms possible.  Strong cooperation with international financial institutions and with other countries effectively facilitated reforming process.  At present Poland successfully continues economic reforms. In 1996 we joined the OECD and in the next year we will join the EU.  The Government of Poland considers the cooperation with the developing countries as one of the top priorities of our external policy.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 4 Current status of national development cooperation activities 1. Major changes that have taken place during the last 18 months  We have been continuing work on a target model of our aid system, at the same time taking account of the requirements which stem from Poland’s forthcoming membership of the European Union;  Polish model of the ODA Strategy (“Strategy of Cooperation for Development”) is in the final phase of inter ministerial consultations. The Strategy, among others, provides for: Creation of an institutional mechanism of granting bilateral aid; Creation of an institutional mechanism of granting bilateral aid; Identification of development policy priorities; Identification of development policy priorities; Basic principles and forms of cooperation for development and its geographical areas. Basic principles and forms of cooperation for development and its geographical areas.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 5 Current status of national development cooperation activities 2. Current Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget and estimations for next years  In 2001 USD 43 million;  In 2002 less than USD 30 million;  Projected level of development assistance by the year % of GDP.  Although Poland recently experienced a temporary slowdown in the economy, we intended to increase our economic assistance for developing countries.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 6 Current status of national development cooperation activities 3. Existing/foreseen ODA delivery mechanisms and institutional set up  NGOs tenders organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister’s Office;  Voluntary payments (contributions) to the International Organizations.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 7 Current status of national development cooperation activities 4. Constraints for efficient delivery of ODA  Lack of a precise project cycle (especially precise evaluation and monitoring mechanisms);  Lack of long term financing plans;  Insufficient funds due to budgetary constraints;  Limited experience in ODA field;  Lack of qualified specialists;  Rotational system within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ;  Lack of coordination between different institutions dealing with foreign aid and development cooperation;  Lack of special training procedures for the future staff of Pol – Aid.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 8 Current status of national development cooperation activities 5. Major challenges ahead/future prospects  Adjusting into well developed mechanisms of Development Assistance of the EU;  Need to increase our spendings on foreign aid in order to meet the EU stated goals;  Creation of a well functioning, efficient system of ODA’s delivery based on DAC/OECD and EU regulations and guidelines;  Information processing: ability to recognize the most important needs and to formulate the best ways of satisfying them;  Providing the legal framework for the ODA – future Law on Foreign Assistance.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 9 Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA 1. Goals of development cooperation Strategic goal: sustainable development and poverty eradication, as well as…:  Maintenance of peace and the promotion of human rights and democracy;  Combating poverty through balanced economic and social development;  Growth of human potential;  Protection of the natural environment;  Prevention and rectification of consequences of armed conflicts and natural disasters.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 10 Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA 2. Comparative advantages  Experience of the transition period;  As a former beneficiary of the foreign aid, Poland is able to provide effective and well directed programs;  Poland has a good experience on preventing such hazards of the ODA as corruption, insufficient control, ineffectiveness of aid programs;  Good understanding of the needs and expectations of our neighbors – beneficiaries.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 11 Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA 3. Territorial priorities (program/project countries)  Poland concentrates its activities on selected countries and regions of the world;  Recipients of assistance: our eastern neighbors, the Balkan states and selected developing countries of Africa and Asia;  More concrete choice will be made after the Strategy of Cooperation for Development is adopted (second half of the year);  We aim at focusing on no more than 5 target countries, including two program countries.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 12 Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA 4. Thematic priorities  Sharing the experience of successful political and economic transformation;  Training and seminars on the building of a civic society;  Arrangements for study groups and the preparation of “know- how ” reports;  Shipment of equipment (including medical equipment) and school aids;  Rehabilitation of technical infrastructure, as well as assistance in many other areas;  Preferential credits.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 13 Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA 5. Multilateral development cooperation Poland closely cooperates with the following organizations:  UN as a whole;  UNDP;  OECD (participation in DAC meetings);  ODACE (CIDA);  IMF (HIPC Initiative: Heavily Indebted Poor Countries);  IDA (International Development Association).

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 14 Strategic, programmatic and territorial focus of ODA 6. Bilateral development cooperation Our current bilateral partners (in 2002 ) :  Azerbaijan  Cambodia  Palestinian Autonomy  Democratic Republic of Congo  Zimbabwe  Zambia  Mali  Mozambique  Ukraine  Russian Federation (Kaliningrad Region)  Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia  Bulgaria  Moldova  Kazakhstan  Afghanistan  Syria

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 15 Partnerships for development cooperation 1. Key national partners  NGOs, such as: Polish Humanitarian Organization Polish Humanitarian Organization The Monar Society The Monar Society Foundation of the Great Christmas Aid Orchestra Foundation of the Great Christmas Aid Orchestra Caritas Poland Caritas Poland The Jolanta Kwaśniewska Foundation “Communication without Barriers” The Jolanta Kwaśniewska Foundation “Communication without Barriers” St Lazarus Hospice and the “fields of hope” etc. St Lazarus Hospice and the “fields of hope” etc.  Companies

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 16 Partnerships for development cooperation 2. EU context  First Polish initiative in the EU – Eastern Dimension of the EU – concerned, among others, the issue of ODA;  Poland will provide assistance through the EU channels by contributing to the EU general budget and (since 2006, 2007) to the tenth European Development Fund.

Grzegorz Wasilewski - Promoting East-East Cooperation 17 Recent UNDP assistance to Poland as a Development Partner  1999: funded a study tour of 2 officers from MFA to Finland and Ireland to see "small-scale" but vigorous government donor agency;  2001: funded a study on the legal status of Polish volunteers abroad;  2002: organized and funded a Preparatory Conference for Poland's delegation to the Monterrey world summit on financing development, to consult with academics, civil society and other government officials;  funded Polish participation in various UNDP-sponsored regional workshops on "emerging donor" issues.