NATO decisions enforcement among Polish president's 2017 policy goals - News - National Security Bureau

08.01.2017

NATO decisions enforcement among Polish president's 2017 policy goals

Polish President Andrzej Duda's 2017 foreign policy goals include the implementation of Warsaw's NATO summit decisions, EU-NATO cooperation, Poland's non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council and strengthening regional cooperation.

As regards Poland's relations with the new US administration, President Duda "wants to see increased activity of the Polish diplomacy to ensure that (...) the Polish relations with the new administration become sufficiently intensive to secure talks between the two heads of state," presidential aide Krzysztof Szczerski has told PAP.

At his annual meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited in Poland on Wednesday, President Duda will present the key guidelines of his foreign activity plan for 2017, which he endorsed on January 5.

Krzysztof Szczerski noted that the president's foreign activities this year will focus on two axes: security and Poland's foreign relations and international position.

As regards security, the president would like to see the implementation of the NATO summit decisions "in the full scope, i.e. not only military presence on the eastern flank, but also political decisions, including cooperation with NATO partners in the East, including Ukraine, and the North - Finland and Sweden," Krzysztof Szczerski stressed.

The president is planning to attend this year's NATO summit in Brussels, according to the presidential aide.

President Duda would also like to see tighter EU-NATO cooperation, as declared during the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw, without duplicating the roles of the two global players and without competing with each other, Krzyszof Szczerski added.

Andrzej Duda will also continue to promote Poland's candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2018-2019.

President Duda's upcoming visit to Israel and Palestine is a way of expressing Poland's interest in global security problems, minister Szczerski noted.

The second activity axis, i.e. strengthening international relations, will include three elements: regional cooperation, cooperation with European countries and global activities, Szczerski explained.

In regional cooperation context, the president wants to see a stronger Visegrad Group and further promotion of the Three Seas concept, i.e. cooperation between countries located at the Adriatic, Baltic and Black seas. The Polish and Croatian presidents have invited the Three Seas country leaders to a summit in Warsaw in July, Szczerski noted.

A meeting of the leaders of NATO's eastern flank countries is also planned in Poland this year, the official went on.

The president also aims to maintain "positive dynamics in Polish-German relations" and hopes that France will host the next Weimar Triangle summit in 2017.

This year, the president plans a number of foreign visits aimed to promote the Polish economy, according to Krzysztof Szczerski. (PAP)