“I would like to thank you for your personal engagement, which made it possible for us to jointly open the exhibition “Armoured Wings” in the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces in Brussels in January this year,” said Minister Jacek Czaputowicz at the meeting. He was referring to the event commemorating the Polish 1st Armoured Division of General Stanisław Maczek, which in the autumn of 1944 liberated a number of towns in Belgian Flanders.

When taking stock of the very good state of political relations, as evidenced by the participation of both foreign ministers as honorary guests in this year’s conferences of ambassadors in Brussels and Warsaw, respectively, the ministers looked at the preparations for the visit of Polish President Andrzej Duda to Belgium, scheduled for this autumn. The visit will be the highlight of the ceremonies to mark the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our states.

The Polish and Belgian top diplomats also discussed the thriving bilateral economic and trade relations. In recent years, there has been an accelerated influx of Belgian capital on the Polish market, with over 700 companies with Belgian capital registered in Poland.

The ministers also discussed the situation of Poles in Belgium. Over the past twenty years, Poles have become one of the leading nations to settle down in Belgium. It is estimated that approximately 150,000 Poles live in Belgium now.

The talks also focused on military cooperation, including the participation of Belgian troops in exercises held in Poland.

Minister Reynders informed his interlocutor about the appointment of a military attaché in Warsaw.

The meeting was also a good opportunity to discuss Polish-Belgian cooperation as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, in the context of both the work on the Council’s documents and the preparations for Poland taking over the UN SC rotating presidency in August 2019.

The ministers expressed their will to continue holding enhanced consultations between Brussels and Warsaw on cooperation in the EU and in the Council of Europe.

 

MFA Press Office

 

Photo Tymon Markowski / MFA