Strengthening Polish-American economic and defence cooperation and EU-US transatlantic relations, increasing humanitarian aid for Ukraine and countries providing assistance to the refugees, and further economic sanctions against Russia dominated the first day of meetings of the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Piotr Nowak, who on Monday started a three-day visit to the United States.  

Over the past three decades, Poland and the United States have worked hand in hand for democracy and freedom. Today, our ties are stronger than ever

– stressed the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Piotr Nowak during the talks with the American partners.

Minister Nowak met in Washington with the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, the President of the World Bank David R. Malpasse, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, the US Secretary of Commerce, Gina M. Raimondo, representatives of the Atlantic Council and the President of the US-Poland Business Council, Eric Stewart. Piotr Nowak also talked with the Vice President of Google, Karan Bhatia.

Polish-American economic cooperation: investments, innovations, energy, defence

During the talks in Washington, Minister Piotr Nowak indicated the strategic goals of the Polish-American partnership.

Our goal is to maintain and regularly increase the presence of American forces in our region and in the territory of Poland. We would like to thank the USA for having sent additional troops to Poland and to other European allies

– said Minister Nowak during the meeting with the US Secretary of Commerce, Gina M. Raimondo.

The goal of Poland is to strengthen the Polish-American economic relations. We want to continue to develop cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, research and development, as well as to strengthen cooperation in the field of cybersecurity and the space industry. The Minister called for a return to regular meetings in the format of the trade and economic dialogue.

We should continue to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy security. We strive for ensuring the greater diversification of energy sources. The commitment and support of the USA to our efforts is of critical importance

– said the Minister of Economic Development and Technology during a conversation with the US Secretary of Commerce, Gina M. Raimondo.

In this context, he mentioned the increase in American supplies of liquefied natural gas and the Polish-American intergovernmental agreement on the support for implementing the nuclear energy development programme in Poland.

The Minister added that Poland expected the further support and commitment of the USA to the Three Seas Initiative.

Poland sees the Three Seas Initiative as the most effective format for the further integration of member states from the eastern flank of the European Union and for strengthening transatlantic ties. This is of great importance in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine

– stated Minister Nowak during the talk with Secretary Raimondo.

According to the Minister, American investments in the energy sector, transport and IT infrastructure, which are the priorities of the Three Seas Initiative, will be of key importance for the energy security of our region. They will also be beneficial for American companies in business terms.

During the meeting with the President of the World Bank, David R. Malpasse, Minister Nowak raised the issue of the possibility of supporting the foreign expansion of Polish enterprises and supporting the energy transition in our country. In 2040, more than half of the installed capacity in Poland is to come from zero-emission sources.

We expect the World Bank’s commitment to the energy and digital transition of Poland

– said Piotr Nowak during the talk with the President of the World Bank.

He pointed out that the Polish transition also required increasing the use of renewable energy sources technologies in heating and increasing the use of alternative fuels in transport. We also focus on the development of electromobility and hydrogen supply for transport.

For Poland, it is important that it is a just transition, that is, the one which considers historically our starting point, the social context of the transition and counteracting the uneven distribution of costs among the countries, which is more burdensome for economies having a high level of use of coal fuels

– stressed the Minister of Economic Development and Technology.

Referring to the impact of the war in Ukraine on the economic situation of Poland, the Minister noted that Poland had the appropriate infrastructure to give up importing Russian oil. In the case of natural gas, the situation will improve significantly after the completion of the Baltic Pipe project, which will complement the already existing alternative sources of this raw material.

During the meeting with the representatives of the Atlantic Council (one of the largest American think-tanks), the Minister said that the Russian aggression against Ukraine completely changed the rules of the game in the energy market. While the EU has been built on the foundation of a coal and steel community, today the Energy Union should become a new foundation and source of European integration and security.

The Polish economy seems to be highly resilient to significant economic turmoil - in recent years, it has successfully survived several periods of market crises thanks to strong foundations in combination with the rational macroeconomic policy and high competitiveness of Polish enterprises

– said the Minister.

Aid to Ukraine

During the meeting with the management of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Piotr Nowak informed that Polish parliament had passed an act providing the refugees from Ukraine with full rights in the field of employment, the possibility of setting up a business and the use of social assistance.

He informed that from the first day of the war, Poland, on behalf of the whole world, had given shelter to more than 1.5 million refugees, mainly women and children.

Ukraine urgently needs humanitarian aid and support in rebuilding its ruined economy. The scale of the crisis requires the involvement of the whole world. The security of Ukraine is the security of Poland and the European Union

– said Minister Nowak during the talk with the President of the World Bank, David R. Malpasse.

The Minister pointed to the need to support programmes of employment, retraining and professional development of Ukrainians.

We expect the commitment of the World Bank to the support for Ukraine, also at the stage of its restoration. We need immediate humanitarian programmes for countries receiving the refugees - Poland, Romania and Moldova

– noted the Minister during the meeting with David R. Malpasse. The World Bank is preparing an aid package for Ukraine, worth USD 3 billion, and the additional support for the neighbouring countries receiving the Ukrainian refugees. Minister Nowak offered the Polish contribution to identifying the needs in developing this aid.

We welcome the decision of the International Monetary Fund to provide Ukraine with aid amounting to USD 1.4 billion

– said Minister Nowak during the meeting with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.

Sanctions against Russia

„Russia isolates itself through its own policy. Sanctions against Russia and Belarus must be significantly tightened. Any business decision that weakens Russia is a step towards peace. The actions taken so far by the international community are ambitious, but not strong enough to effectively stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine”

– said Minister Nowak during the meeting with the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai.

Minister Nowak pointed to the consideration of the issue of suspending Russia’s participation in the G20 meetings. He noted that Poland was trying to strengthen its presence and involvement in the work of the G20.

By attacking independent Ukraine, Russia violated all the rules of international cooperation. This is the basis for excluding it from organisations guaranteeing the international economic and financial stability. Today, there is no place for it in the G20

– stated the Minister during the meeting with K. Tai.

With all responsibility, Poland deserves a place in the G20, as the second fastest growing country in the world over the last 30 years

– added Piotr Nowak. The Minister stressed during the talks that the Polish transition was also a story about the success of the West, about the possibility of reconciling the market transition with democratisation.

American investments in Poland

Minister Piotr Nowak talked about the development of cooperation and partnership in the development of new technologies with the participation of Polish innovators with the Vice President of Google, Karan Bhatia.

The recent investment of Google in Poland confirms the strength of our economy. Thank you for your trust and for having committed to helping the war refugees from Ukraine coming to Poland

– said the Minister during the meeting with Vice-President Bhatia.

The Minister referred to the latest transaction carried in Poland by Google which several days before had announced the purchase of office space in Warsaw for the amount of nearly PLN 2.7 billion. This is the largest Google project in Poland. The offices will accommodate Google Cloud - the company’s cloud technology development centre in Europe, with 2,500 jobs, mainly for IT specialists.

The presence of Google in Poland attests to the potential of Polish specialists in creating the state-of-the-art technologies. The future associated with the development of quantum computers is ahead of us. I believe that Polish innovators will also contribute to this field

– emphasized Minister Nowak at the meeting.

Google has committed to helping people affected by the war in Ukraine. At the Google for Startups Campus in the Warsaw district of Praga, a legal and psychological assistance centre for the refugees is to be created. The company announced that it would donate PLN 40 million to non-governmental organisations acting for the benefit of the refugees from Ukraine.

Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence are another type of weapon, therefore, we should work together. Recent events have shown this to us in a particularly clear manner

– said the Minister of Economic Development and Technology.

During the talks with the American partners, the Head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology stressed that 40% of American investments in Central Europe were located in Poland.

We are ready for more

– he said.

The Minister met with Eric Stewart, President of the US-Poland Business Council (PARB) and its representatives, bringing together American companies interested in operating in the Polish market.

We want to send a clear message to people fleeing the Russian aggression and to companies sending their projects and employees outside Russia that Poland remains a safe haven for business

– declared Piotr Nowak. In this regard, we are also open to broadly understood cooperation with American companies.

The Minister informed that the Polish government had an extensive and regularly updated offer of incentives for investors, as well as the comprehensive support from public institutions.

Transatlantic relations between the EU and the USA

The Minister also talked with the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai about the development of cooperation between the European Union and the United States within the Framework of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The point is to stimulate trade, investment and technological innovation. The Minister mentioned cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, the fight against disinformation, solutions in the field of electronic commerce, electronic identification, competition rules and the development of digital innovation, including artificial intelligence.

He expressed the hope that thanks to this platform it would be possible to make the EU’s and the USA’s approaches to new technology standards and to the resilience of the supply chain more consistent and to avoid unnecessary trade barriers.

The expansion of the transatlantic community and the strengthening of cooperation among its members are today more important than ever

– concluded the Minister of Economic Development and Technology.