On 1 July, the deputy foreign minister represented Poland at the swearing-in ceremony of Panama’s new president and met with Carlos Guevara Mann, Panama’s new deputy foreign minister for multilateral cooperation. The Panamanian side expressed readiness to step up its involvement in the work of the Community of Democracies through its membership of the Executive Committee and in a project to establish in Panama a regional centre of the Community for Western Hemisphere countries. Deputy Minister Guevara Mann condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine and declared that Panama is committed to respecting international law.

The events surrounding President Mulino’s swearing-in ceremony also provided an opportunity for talks with representatives of other countries in the region, including Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez.

The Suriname visit was the first such high-level meeting since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993. Deputy Minister for International Cooperation Elizabeth Bradley welcomed Poland’s initiative to hold the meeting and proposed that the next step in strengthening relations should be the signing of a cooperation agreement in areas identified by both sides as having good future prospects. She stressed that Suriname intends to intensify its international activity through its engagement in regional and multilateral fora, including by submitting Suriname’s candidature to the UN Security Council.

During the consultations, the two sides discussed the economy and investment, including in the food, energy, and fintech industries. Deputy Minister Bradley expressed hope for enhancing academic cooperation and enabling students from Suriname to attend Polish universities.

Moreover, the interlocutors exchanged views on current global challenges, including migration issues and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During their stay in Suriname, the Polish delegation met with representatives of UN specialised agencies operating in Suriname and EU countries’ ambassadors present in the country. The conversation focused on the problems that Suriname is currently facing as well as the prospects of progress in relation to the planned start of oil extraction.

The meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo on 2 July was part of another round of Polish–Cuban political consultations. The sides discussed items on the bilateral relations agenda, focusing in particular on economic cooperation. Similarly to the meetings in Paramaribo, the talks in Havana concerned regional issues, including the upcoming Polish Presidency of the EU Council, the EU – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summit planned for 2025, and the question of granting Poland observer status in the Association of Caribbean States.

Both sides confirmed their willingness to continue the political consultations format that enables them to tackle issues on which Poland and Cuba have vastly different stances.

In Havana, Undersecretary of State at the Polish MFA Jakub Wiśniewski also met with Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Cuba Fernando Leon Jacomino. During their meeting, the officials signed the agreement between the government of the Republic of Poland and the government of the Republic of Cuba on cooperation in the fields of culture, science, education, and sport.