The deputy minister also held talks with the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík, Dávid Tencer, Missionary Sisters of Christ the King for Polish Emigrants, and visited Polish nuns at a Discalced Carmelite convent. The deputy foreign minister met with a few dozen members of the Polish community in Iceland, including Adam Calicki, a member of the Association of Polish Engineers, with whom he talked about Polish-Icelandic hydrogen production. The secretary of state laid flowers at Fossvogskirkjugarður cemetery on graves of sailors from the Polish ship Wigry, which sank in 1942 off Iceland’s coast. He also gave an interview for the Morgunblaðið daily.

The meetings with Icelandic partners focused on bilateral relations, including the situation of the local Polish community, war in Ukraine and the security situation in Europe, Belarus, sanctions against Russia, and energy security.

The interlocutors agreed that Polish-Icelandic relations have never been so well developed. “The main vectors shaping the growing dynamics of our contacts are numerous Poles living in Iceland, potential for economic cooperation, in particular in the field of geothermal energy, hydrogen, and the shipbuilding industry, as well as shared assessment of geopolitical challenges, including the war in Ukraine,” emphasised the secretary of state. The deputy foreign minister added that raising the rank of the chief of Polish mission in Reykjavík to ambassador in 2018 is a proof of increasingly closer ties between the two countries. “Poland welcomes the decision of Icelandic authorities to open an embassy in Warsaw this year. It will allow a better implementation of economic and cultural projects,” he concluded.

Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk highlighted the importance that Warsaw attaches to the creation of conditions allowing as many children and young people as possible to study Polish in Iceland, as evidenced by the opening of two Polish schools as part of the ORPEG (Centre for the Development of Polish Education Abroad) system – in Reykjavík in 2020 and in Keflavík in 2022. Poland is also interested in expanding the offer of Icelandic public schools in this regard. Currently, 16 out of 280 Icelandic schools offer the possibility of studying Polish. In total, about 800 out of 3,500 Polish children study their native language. We welcome the progress in talks on creating a Polish department at the University of Iceland.

Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk pointed out the interest of the Polish side in pursuing parliamentary cooperation, in particular with the participation of the Polish-Icelandic Friendship Group of the Sejm.

An important topic covered as part of consultations was war in Ukraine. “Ukraine has the opportunity to regain control of its territory. We have to maintain our regular assistance, which has been bringing very good results,” highlighted the deputy foreign minister. He presented Poland’s proposals in terms of expanding sanctions against Russia, including our efforts to limit the number of Russians coming to Europe.

The Polish delegation outlined the situation in Belarus, highlighting the persecution of members of the Polish community by Lukashenko’s regime. The delegation called for a gesture of solidarity condemning Minsk for barbaric destruction of graves of Polish soldiers.

 

Łukasz Jasina

MFA Press Spokesperson