Minister Rau’s speech was part of the plenary session labelled: “Reclaiming Europe: Navigating the Political Compass”. The session addressed theconsequences of the crisis within the EU, particularly of “common values”, and the EU’s role as one of potential leaders of the post-pandemic world.

The head of Polish MFA underlined that the COVID-19 pandemic clearly shows the need for leadership and cooperation on the part of the EU. He also noted that effective global response to COVID-19 is only feasible with the collaboration of multilateral institutions. Therefore, the EU needs partners to strengthen values- and rules-based international order, and to breathe new energy into managing global economy.

Having noted that Warsaw is a declared proponent of transatlantic cooperation, Minister Rau pointed out that both the EU and the USA want a new opening in the context of strong transatlantic partnership. He also referred to the EU- Chinese relations.

In his opinion, the key challenges are the divisions and fragmentation of global order, which pose a risk to Europe that had put a lot of effort in building friendly relations after the fall of communism. Poland’s top diplomat also addressed the EU’s role to be played in the time of crisis, including its potential to shape global agenda, as an organisation statutorily mandated to promote multilateralism, human rights, and democracy.

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The international Raisina Dialogue conference is considered the largest India- based forum on key geopolitical and geo-economic matters with special focus on Asian context and Indian issues. The conference is held annually since 2016 by Observer Research Foundation, Indian analytic outfit, in cooperation with India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This year, due to increased number of COVID-19 infections, the conference was held exclusively online.

 
MFA Press Office