President Andrzej Duda met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations summit in New York on Monday and discussed Poland’s prospects for temporary membership of the Security Council in 2018-2019.

“The president thanked Ban Ki-moon for his 10 years as Secretary General and assured him that Poland wants to be an active member of the UN,” said senior presidential aide Krzysztof Szczerski.

“They also discussed the Polish candidacy for the Security Council and the tasks that lie ahead of us,” said Szczerski.

President Duda arrived in the US on Sunday and has since met with representatives of the Polish community and delivered a speech at the UN summit.

On Wednesday, the president will speak at the UN General Assembly and plans to talk about the pillars of sustainable development – justice, responsibility and solidarity.

Before going to the US, President Duda said that Poland is “in the final stages of applying for temporary membership of the UN Security Council”. To become a member, Poland would need the support of two-thirds of member states.