Minister Zbigniew Rau briefed his partners on the current state of affairs at the Poland-Belarus border. “A hybrid operation run by the Belarusian regime at Poland’s eastern border, which is also the eastern border of the EU and NATO, would not be possible without external support,” he emphasised. The chief of Polish diplomacy also thanked the V4 countries for their solidarity and Ankara for its cooperation, which helped to reduce the number of illegal migrants reaching Belarus from third countries. 

The ministers covered the situation in Afghanistan, with a particular focus on the challenges to regional and European security. They furthermore stressed their support for the Western Balkans’ European integration, including the tangible support from the Visegrad Group countries. Minister Rau expressed his hope that accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania will open as soon as possible and announced Poland’s plans to step up its development assistance to the region in 2022.

The participants highly judged the potential of economic cooperation in the V4+Turkey format in the period of post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Minister Rau underlined that the EU remains Turkey’s most important economic partner, with Ankara ranking second on the EU’s list of trading partners under preferential agreements, and sixth altogether. Meeting participants agreed that it is in the joint interest of the two parties to seek a close and constructive cooperation based on mutual trust and observance of international law, notably in migration, security policy, and economic relations.  

Turkey continues to be Poland’s most important economic partner in the Middle East. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our trade exceeded EUR 6 billion last year. The meeting also provided an opportunity to reaffirm Poland’s support for Turkey’s European prospects.

 

MFA Press Spokesperson
Łukasz Jasina

 

Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA