The main purpose of the visit paid by the delegation of the MARD headed by Secretary of State Lech Kołakowski was to participate in the first meeting of the Polish-Vietnamese Working Group on Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Henryk Kowalczyk has received today the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Poland, Saad Alsaleh. They discussed prospects for developing Polish-Saudi cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Secretary of State Rafał Romanowski has met today with a delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) led by Susan Goeransson, Director Infrastructure Europe. The meeting concerned the possibility of the EBRD's involvement in investments to increase the export of goods from Ukraine.

Secretary of State Ryszard Bartosik participated in the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels.

Today, quadrilateral talks were held, attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Henryk Kowalczyk, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi, United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski. The talks were followed by a joint press conference held by the heads of all delegations.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Henryk Kowalczyk today hosted United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. It was the first visit to Poland by a US agriculture minister in 16 years.

Today - at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Henryk Kowalczyk - the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi visited Warsaw. The heads of the Polish and Ukrainian agriculture ministries met in person to continue talks on the possibilities of supporting Ukrainian agriculture in the face of Russian aggression, and to discuss the conditions for mutual trade in agri-food goods.

Today, on Ukraine’s initiative, Mr. Henryk Kowalczyk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, held a video conference with Mrs. Yulia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine. Mr. Rafał Romanowski, Secretary of State, and Mr. Andriy Deshchytsia, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland, also participated in the talks. This was already a second meeting of the Deputy Prime Ministers of both countries.

On behalf of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk today received the President of the Senate of Romania, Florin-Vasile Cîțu, who was accompanied by the Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Poland, Cosmin Onisii.

Mr. Henryk Kowalczyk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, is participating in the 33rd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe which is held in Łódź. It is attended by the representatives of more than 50 countries from Europe and Asia. It is already for a second time that Poland hosts the FAO Conference which will last until 13 May.