The cooperation agreement was signed by Polish deputy infrastructure minister and government commissioner for CPK Marcin Horała and the British ambassador to Poland Jonathan Knott (on behalf of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade, Graham Stuart). The agreement envisages readiness for cooperation – involving a Polish-British consultation team – on designing airport and rail infrastructure, spatial planning for areas around the airport and issues relating to sustainable development and project digitisation.

The agreement is part of a continuing Polish-British cooperation on the CPK project. In June and September 2019, British Embassy Warsaw hosted workshops that paved the way for initial architectural concepts for the Solidarity Airport. The proposals were submitted by internationally renowned architecture firms Foster+Partners, Chapman Taylor, Zaha Hadid Architects, Grimshaw, Benoy, Pascall+Watson, Woods Bagot, Populous and KPF.

The British aviation sector has much experience and know-how to offer toward planning, designing and building the Solidarity Airport and 1600 km of new railway lines including high-speed lines. Minister Graham Stuart said:

I’ve previously met with Polish ministers to champion UK expertise in delivering their ambitious plans to transform Polish connectivity, so I’m particularly proud to announce the deal we’ve struck with Poland’s Infrastructure Ministry today. Poland is an ever more important trade partner for the UK and I’m delighted that, after more than two years work by my department, British firms’ experience and expertise can be at the heart of delivering this major boost to Poland’s trade and prosperity.

The UK is home to some of the best project management, engineering, architecture and finance experts in the world. It is the role of our dedicated trade department, DIT, through trade support and export finance, to make sure their brilliance is showcased on the world stage.

CEO of the Solidarity Transport Hub, Mikołaj Wild, said:

Representatives of the British aviation sector have worked with us shoulder to shoulder since a very early stage of the CPK project. I deeply hope that this cooperation will continue. We value the experience of British companies, gained in the course of realization of large infrastructure projects not only in their own country but also in other parts of the world.

Polish Government Commissioner for the Solidarity Transport Hub, Marcin Horała, said:

Large infrastructure projects such as the Solidarity Transport Hub respond to the transport needs of citizens and countries, but also provide an opportunity to exchange specialist knowledge and experience. I’m confident that cooperation with the UK will help build a modern, comfortable and epidemiologically safe airport.

Thank you Mr Chair. As Chair of the Security Committee, Men Engage Network and as Ambassador for my country – I would like to thank both the Ukrainian FSC and Albanian PC Chairs for making the Women, Peace and Security agenda one of its key priorities and for dedicating today’s Joint Security Dialogue to this important topic. Doing so reinforces the importance of gender equality in the achievement of peace and security efforts.

I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to the distinguished speakers – the Minister of Defence from Albania, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs from Ukraine, and the Special Representative on Gender – for their invaluable time today. Their excellent insights serve to demonstrate both the great progress but also the complex challenges that still surround the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the OSCE region.

Mr Chair, we last had the opportunity to discuss the WPS agenda in March under the Turkish Chair, since then we have, and are, enduring an unprecedented crisis which has affected all our lives. Despite the physical restrictions, COVID-19 has brought many of us closer together as we seek out new ways to socialise, work and engage with each other. We have seen the brave response from those who are fighting this pandemic in medical centres and hospitals around the world and we recognise the sacrifices so many have already made. Two-thirds of the global healthcare workforce is female, placing women at the frontline of the pandemic. However, the conditions in which we now operate and live in during this crisis also present wider risks and threats. We must not let COVID-19 erode our progress on – and the importance of – the WPS agenda.

Over the past two decades – since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 in October 2000 – a lot has been done to promote the importance of the Resolution and to implement its agenda. But significant challenges still remain. At the security dialogue in March, I highlighted that 20 years on – less than two-thirds of OSCE participating States had a National Action Plan. And we again encourage all participating States yet to adopt a Plan to do so as soon as possible.

On the Security Committee – for the transnational threats that the Committee covers – we need to deepen our understanding of gender dynamics. This is to better inform how we respond to these threats. For example, at our 2nd of March meeting, the Committee considered the importance of a whole of society approach to counter-terrorism and violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism. During that meeting, we heard about a project in the Western Balkans that highlighted the specific issues around female radicalisation. We want to continue to focus on specific, tangible examples and illustrations of gender dynamics and their importance for tackling transnational threats within the Committee.

In March, we welcomed the Women in the First Dimension group and with it, the List of Female Experts and welcome today the launch of the mentoring network. We must capitalise on this initiative, ensuring whenever possible, those experts are represented at OSCE conferences and dialogues. We will do precisely this for the Security Committee this. And it is great to hear that this is exactly the intention of the ASRC.

Mr Chair, we heard earlier about the significant and valuable role women play in both Albania and Ukraine. In Albania we recognise its National Action Plan and tangible results in country. This includes the statistic that 35.4% of officers who joined the army last year were women. In Ukraine, we value the role women play in civil society, including as human rights defenders, and by ensuring access to humanitarian assistance, education, and healthcare on both sides of the contact line. We also routinely hear about the outstanding work being done by the SMM throughout Ukraine, including by women monitors.

Women’s participation is key to the success and longevity of peace processes. This is important not only in Ukraine, but in all parts of the OSCE region affected by conflict, and at all stages of the conflict cycle. As an organisation, we must do better in ensuring that women are represented among OSCE mediators at all levels in the relevant formats related to protracted conflicts. It is incumbent on us to take full advantage of tools – such as the OSCE’s “Inclusion of Women and Effective Peace Processes”. And bring more women mediators to the table. This is also the case for female monitors.

As Chair of the OSCE MenEngage network, we will continue to raise awareness of the role and influence all of us can play in speaking out against inequality and ending gender based violence. Gender parity at all job levels in the OSCE; robust action against gender discrimination; and a zero tolerance approach on sexual harassment must happen – supported by tangible measures and actions from all of us. And we must end – collectively – sexual exploitation and abuse wherever and whenever it occurs. Representatives from the Men Engage Network are pleased to join the Female Ambassadors in their statement later today.

Mr Chair – in concluding – we have recently commemorated the 75 year Anniversary of VE day. It would be an oversight not to recognise the important role women played in that victory, including on the frontlines, and their fundamental role in rebuilding our societies and countries after the conflict. World War II provided a stimulus for social change and the fight for what we now recognise as gender equality. Yet, three quarters of a century later that inequality and discrimination still persist in the OSCE region. We need to continue to promote change and tackle it head on.

UNSCR 1325 affects every single one of us. It is about inclusive peace and security, where we take account of varied perspectives and ways of thinking. It is about ensuring that efforts to prevent, respond to, and resolve conflict take into account the needs of all of society. At its core – it is essential to achieve a more peaceful, prosperous and democratic OSCE region.

Thank you once again for putting a spotlight on this important topic. And I request that this statement be attached to the Journal of the Day.

Since 2015, the Government company has invested more than £85 million towards the creation of 160 new and upgraded cycle ways across England, providing safe, attractive and accessible facilities for people to cycle for work, shopping and leisure.

Cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders will see more benefits over the next five years, with £169 million set aside in Highways England’s new Users and Communities fund. The company is using the fund to improve services for users and neighbours of England’s motorways and major A-roads, including increasing the options people have for sustainable travel.

In the latest initiative announced today, £1.3 million of funding will help create a path between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon and complete the final part of the cycle route between Brean and Portishead in the South West.

Anyone currently wishing to cycle between the two towns has to negotiate a motorway junction and a busy A road. But the new section will remove those challenges and add to the mix of quiet lanes, dedicated cycle facilities and a crossing of the River Yeo on the route. It will also reduce the distance to travel between the towns by about four miles for people not in vehicles, and provide a vital link between existing routes.

Funding from Highways England has also realised safer journeys for cyclists around the A540 near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, the A64 near Musley Bank and Tadcaster Bar and the M11 near London Stansted Airport, where cyclists commuting to the airport previously faced navigating the hazardous junction 8.

Up to 55,000 trips per year are forecast on the new coastal route and a significant number of those will be commuters who can leave their cars at home.

Chris Heaton-Harris, Cycling and Walking Minister, said:

Across the country there has been a surge in the numbers of people getting on their bikes or walking as part of their daily exercise, and I want to build on this with our recently announced £2 billion investment to create a green legacy.

This 24-mile coastal cycleway will provide a great space for cyclists, walkers and horse riders and help them boost their physical and mental health. Cutting the journey between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon by four miles will also make this journey more accessible and help cut road traffic.

Steven Wright, Highways England’s Users and Communities Fund lead, said:

We’re committed to significantly improving safety across our road network, and the new and improved cycle and footpaths will make it much easier and safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

At Highways England, our work goes beyond operating, maintaining and improving roads. We’re investing in the environment and communities surrounding our network, as well as the people travelling and working on it. We aim to address social and environmental issues and add real value to society.

We’re delighted to be partnering with North Somerset Council to realise this project – a glowing example of how this funding can make life better for communities living and working near our roads.

Highways England manages four designated funds, allocated by the Government, to deliver benefits above and beyond building, maintaining and operating England’s strategic roads.

From protecting the environment and enhancing the landscape around roads, to improving safety, reducing congestion, and supporting communities, the aim is to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

Highways England has invested £1.3 million into North Somerset Council’s £2.09 million project to create a new mile-long walking and cycling path between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon, to the west of the M5.

The benefits will not only reduce traffic around M5 junction 21 and on the motorway, but also bring about a growth in the use of sustainable transport, improved air quality and a healthier society in general.

North Somerset Council executive member for transport Cllr James Tonkin said:

This funding from Highways England is fantastic news. Building a Weston to Clevedon cycleway is a long-held aspiration for the council, first proposed back in 1979.

It will give a quiet, safer route for cyclists, avoiding the busy A370 and M5 junction 21. It will be designed to accommodate disabled people and will have health and environmental benefits by encouraging an active lifestyle and reducing travel by car.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

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Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.