Minister Jacek Czaputowicz visits Copenhagen
20.02.2020
“Denmark is Poland’s special partner. Security is an important area of Poland’s and Denmark’s common interests. We highly value cooperation in NATO,” said the Polish top diplomat during his one-day visit to the Kingdom of Denmark.
Security policy was high on the agenda of Minister Jacek Czaputowicz’s meeting with his Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod.
The Polish foreign minister thanked his interlocutor for Denmark’s engagement in enhancing regional security as a framework nation of the Multinational Corps Northeast in Szczecin (Poland-Denmark-Germany) and a country participating in NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence on its eastern flank. The ministers presented a similar assessment of the situation in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, including Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Russia’s growing military activity in the Baltic sea and Arctic regions. They also discussed political situation in the Middle East. In this context, Minister Czaputowicz mentioned Poland’s engagement in the Warsaw Process. He also urged the Danish side to continue the European Union’s enlargement policy.
The Polish MFA chief emphasized that Denmark is an important economic partner for Poland. Over the last dozen or so years, trade between Poland and Denmark has doubled to exceed EUR 6.5 billion in 2018. Since 1999, Poland has maintained a positive trade balance. “We welcome Danish companies’ investments in Poland and we hope that our cooperation will continue to thrive,” said Minister Czaputowicz.
Another topic on the agenda was energy cooperation. “The Baltic Pipe, which is important for Poland’s energy transformation and the security of Central and Eastern Europe, will foster even closer links between our countries,” said Minister Czaputowicz. He added that Poland would like to learn more about Denmark’s experiences in developing the offshore wind energy industry.
The ministers also discussed the situation of the Polish community living in Denmark. “We appreciate the fact that Danish schools offer Polish language teaching as the mother tongue for Polish pupils,” stressed the Polish minister.
The Polish top diplomat met with representatives of the Folketing’s Foreign Affairs Committee to talk about security issues, NATO cooperation, energy partnership, and the current EU agenda.
In Copenhagen, Minister Jacek Czaputowicz also visited the Aalborg University to deliver a lecture on security of the Baltic Sea region. The minister also met with representatives of Polish community organisations operating in Denmark and thanked them for cherishing the Polish language and national traditions.
MFA Press Office
Photo Tymon Markowski / MFA
