Historic visit of the Polish President to the Philippines and closer cooperation

Przydacz: We are opening a new chapter

Presidential Minister Marcin Przydacz emphasized before departure that this is a historic, first visit of the Polish president to the Philippines, which is one of the elements of Poland's campaign within the G20 group.

We have had relations with the Philippines for over fifty years, but the President of the Republic of Poland has never visited this country, so we are opening a new chapter here, he said.

Although the Philippines is not in the G20 group, this year it is chairing the ASEAN group, which brings together virtually all Southeast Asian countries. And we want, as part of Poland's activity in the G20, to also talk to this region - an extremely rapidly developing and extremely ambitious one. Its role and influence on world politics is growing enormously, he said.

He noted that the G20 is not only developed European countries or the USA, but also the Global South. He announced that before the December G20 summit in Miami, the president would talk with representatives of these countries, hence - he said - visits to the Middle East, Africa and South America are also planned.

All this to show that Poland is interested not only in its immediate neighborhood (...). not only Europe and relations with the USA, but has a much broader perspective, he emphasized.

"Polish entrepreneurs are interested in this market"

The second area of Polish interest during the visit, he noted, will be economic relations. The Philippines has almost 120 million people, quite young, with an average age of 25, and a strongly developing market. Polish entrepreneurs are interested in this market, he emphasized. He emphasized that we are talking not only about the agri-food market, but also in the ICT (information and communication technologies) sector.

Przydacz also recalled that "Polish Black Hawk helicopters are flying in the Philippine sky."

He emphasized that what brings Poland and the Philippines closer are also "cultural and ethical foundations", as the Philippines is a Christian country.

The presidential minister also emphasized that neither Poland nor the Philippines were colonial states, but many countries often tried to dominate both countries, hence our belief in international law and multilateral diplomacy, as well as maintaining the force of law instead of the law of force.

Important contracts to sign

Asked whether he expected to sign any bilateral agreements during his visit to the Philippines, Przydacz said yes, and that among them would be a "multilateral document dealing with Polish-Philippine relations." He emphasized that the government has also recently negotiated a number of documents.

We want this visit to result in real economic and political rapprochement between Poland and the Philippines, he declared.

Schedule of the president's visit to the Philippines

According to the visit schedule posted by the Chancellery of the President, a wreath-laying ceremony by President Karol Nawrocki is scheduled for Tuesday at the monument of José Rizal - a Filipino national hero, writer and socio-political activist.

Then the Polish presidential couple will be welcomed by the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife.

Then, there will be a meeting "within a small group" of the presidents of Poland and the Philippines, followed by a meeting of delegations led by both leaders.

On Tuesday, the presidents of both countries will also meet with media representatives. The last point scheduled for this day is an official dinner hosted by the President of the Philippines and his wife in honor of the Polish presidential couple.

On Wednesday morning, President Nawrocki will take part in the opening ceremony of the 5th Polish-Philippine IT Business Summit. He will also meet with participants of the Polish-Filipino hackathon.

At noon, the president will give a lecture for students of the Catholic University of Warsaw. Saint Thomas in Manila. It is the oldest existing university in Asia and one of the largest Catholic universities in the world located on one campus. In the evening, Karol Nawrocki will meet with representatives of Polish and Filipino business.

A meeting of the Polish presidential couple with people distinguished for the development of Polish-Philippine relations and the Polish diaspora in the Philippines is also planned on Wednesday.

On Thursday - the last day of the visit - Karol Nawrocki will visit the air base. colonel J. Villamora, where Black Hawk helicopters manufactured in PZL Mielec, purchased for the needs of the Philippine Air Force, are purchased.