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Poland and Canada strengthen their military cooperation

11.10.2022

“We are allies. Polish-Canadian cooperation has many dimensions. Most importantly, we cooperate on NATO’s eastern flank. At the same time, we support Ukraine, since we wish Ukraine to be an independent state. We, Poles, want to be neighbors with independent Ukraine - not with Russia. We appreciate Canadian involvement on NATO's eastern flank. Our soldiers are stationed in Latvia, where Canada is the framework nation. We participate in the Canadian exercises, and the Canadian army participates in the Polish exercises. Together, we are building interoperability between our armed forces” said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence of Poland, Mariusz Błaszczak after a meeting with Anita Anand, head of the Department of National Defence of Canada.

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On October 11 a delegation from the Canadian Department of National Defence paid a visit to Warsaw.

The talks between the defense ministers of Poland and Canada were focused on the issues of bilateral military relations and cooperation within NATO. The discussion was related mainly to the war in Ukraine, including support for Ukrainian troops. The heads of defense ministries also spoke of the security situation, and issues of technical modernization and armaments cooperation.

“We disagree with the attempts to rebuild the Russian Empire. We have warned against these intentions many times. Our Late President Lech Kaczyński spoke about it many times. Today, we see what the Russian troops are capable of. They commit crimes in the occupied Ukrainian territories. We will do everything to support Ukraine and we will do everything to stop attempts to rebuild the Russian Empire. We will do everything so that the war does not spread over to the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance"

- said the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak.

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Poland and the Canadian Department of National Defense. The memorandum regarded defense cooperation.

“Our tasks are related to the strengthening of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, therefore Poland will allocate over 3% of GDP to defense next year. We also numerically strengthen the Polish armed forces and equip them with modern weapons to deter an aggressor. Another important element of the deterrence process is cooperation within the North Atlantic Alliance, and today we have the opportunity to strengthen Polish-Canadian relations. This is achieved by the just signed memorandum on training and technical cooperation. Together, we are stronger"

- noted Deputy Prime Minister M. Błaszczak.

 “I am satisfied that today I was able to meet my counterpart and my friend, Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, and we were able to sign a memorandum on enhancing defense cooperation between Poland and Canada. It will be true and deep cooperation between the two allies. Thanks to this, we will expand our possibilities of cooperation, primarily in the military field. Our soldiers will exercise with each other more often, they will be able to learn from each other, but most of all they will also get to know each other, and thanks to this we will increase the level of security"

- said Minister Anand after signing the memorandum.

 

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Poland and Canada cooperate under a NATO initiative - Enhanced Forward Presence - on NATO's eastern flank. Poland, as the only host nation of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence, has the status of a contributor to the eFP. The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland delegates a tank unit to the Canadian-formed multinational battalion battle group eFP in Latvia. PMC Latvia comprises of up to 200 soldiers, and the entire NATO combat group counts over 1,000 soldiers. In addition to Canadians and Poles, it includes soldiers from Italy, Albania, Slovenia, and Spain.

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