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It is an honour to be here and to sign this Host Country Agreement with the Government of Poland. This is a key milestone in launching UNOPS presence in Poland - and it will allow us to work together with your country to make a tangible difference to lives.

This agreement builds on the fruitful collaboration that started exactly a year ago, when my predecessor, Mr. Jens Wandel met President Duda and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mr. Shmyhal in this very room. And I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski [pronounced Ksystof Scerski] for initiating and bringing forward this partnership.

Poland has charted a unique development path, and your commitment to the green transition is commendable. You serve as an example for other countries who are looking to follow a similar path to growth and EU integration.

We commend the unprecedented solidarity that the Polish Government, private sector and people have shown towards Ukraine at this difficult hour. Working together with the Government of Poland, we hope to further amplify this support including through the use of UN platforms.

This is a particularly important agreement for us, because it allows UNOPS to take bold actions aimed at two main priorities:

Fostering early recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine;

Facilitating increased access of the Polish private sector to UN procurement platforms.

Currently, Polish businesses have limited involvement in UN procurement processes. In 2022, the UN procured just over USD 71 million from Poland, placing the country in the 70th rank in the list of countries that the UN procured from.

We see great potential for increased engagement of Polish companies in UN processes, specifically with regards to the reconstruction task in Ukraine which can only be successful with the capacities of the private sector. We hope to foster their participation through a proactive outreach campaign.

In this effort, we will be joining forces with our partner - UN Global Compact Network Poland - with whom we have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure the widest possible reach amongst Polish businesses.

UNOPS will use its Polish Office as a hub to attract the best talent to be engaged in our projects aimed at recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.

As a UN Agency with a proven track record in infrastructure, procurement and project management, which operates based on the principles of transparency and accountability, we will continue to deliver on key life-saving and development projects in Ukraine.

I want to thank the Government of Poland (Office of the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State for Polish-Ukrainian cooperation and Sectoral Ministries) for the excellent cooperation we’ve enjoyed so far.

I have no doubt that through our partnership we will jointly deliver vital projects to help Ukraine build back better.

Thank you.