Poland’s Assistance to Yemen [Archives:2001/45/Front Page]

Polish Counselor and UN representatives held a press conference at the Polish embassy building in Sana’a, Yemen on Saturday, November 3, 2001. A number of journalists and representatives of Arab and foreign news agencies and those interested in the Yemeni islands, specifically Socotra Island, attended the conference. The attendants discussed the environmental biodiversity of the island and the necessity of preserving this island, it being a strategic and wild life sanctuaries in the Republic of Yemen. The Coordinator of the United Nations, Eduardo Zandki, pointed out that the island was in dire need of infrastructure. He placed much stress on the strategic location of the island, considering it a rare area. He added that the island lacked the simplest and most basic essentials.
On July 23, 2001, an agreement was signed between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the United Nations Development Program for the provision of generators to support the “Environment, Natural Resources and Poverty Alleviation for the Population of Socotra Island in Yemen.”
In accordance with this agreement, Poland will donate ten electrical generator sets to Socotra. The Polish government will also cover other expenses including supplementary equipment shipping to Socotra, on-site installation of generator rooms, training of local operators, and a one-year period of service and maintenance. The total cost of this project is reaches US$130,000.
It needs to be emphasized that for the past ten years the Republic of Poland has itself been a major recipient of international financial assistance. However, with years of successful socio-political transformations and economic reforms, as well as noticeable progress in terms of Poland’s integration with the biggest European and international institutions (i.e. the European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development), the country was able to start implementing its own, independent assistance programs addressed towards developing countries such as Yemen.


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