The speakers focused on Polish development assistance implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local authorities. The debate stressed that in the past Poland also benefited from assistance provided by other, wealthier countries. Moreover, the participants pointed out that development assistance constitutes an important element of building Poland’s positive image abroad whose impact can be seen in the preference for Polish companies as investment contractors.

Last week similar debates were organized in Gdansk, Gorzow Wielkopolski, and Katowice.

The European Solidarity Centre (ECS) in Gdansk hosted a discussion on the last fifteen years of Poland’s membership in the EU and the EU’s future in the context of the Berlin Process. The speakers highlighted the economic dimension of Poland’s fifteen years in the EU and pointed out that the most noticeable aspect of our membership is the significant increase in the GDP. The debate at the Jacob of Paradies University in Gorzow Wielkopolski focused on Polish-German relations. The participants discussed changes that have taken place in relations between the two countries over the last four years, and pointed to regular meetings between representatives of Polish and German governments. The debate also covered history policy, including issues related to commemorating Polish victims of World War II and the necessity to educate people about the difficult past between our countries. The debate in Katowice, on the other hand, discussed Polish diplomacy in terms of humanitarian aid.

The debates under the theme ‘The achievements of Polish foreign policy in 2015-2019’ are organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Regional Centres for International Debate.

 

MFA Press Office