Ministry of Science
and Higher Education

The participants  emphasised the willingness of both parties to continue cooperation in the field of science and higher education, to educate Ukrainian citizens at Polish universities while respecting their national identity, and the need to exchange mutual experiences in the field of student internships. The talks also included Cooperation Agreement in the field of higher education.

The Ukrainian side expressed its gratitude for Poland's assistance to Ukraine so far, and the Polish side maintained its readiness to continue supporting Ukraine and assured their counterparts of the priority nature of measures for Ukraine.

Joint statement of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Poland, the Minister of Science of the Republic of Poland and the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine

Ministers Barbara Nowacka and Dariusz Wieczorek expressed solidarity with Ukraine which is resisting the Russian aggressor, and they pointed out that the victims of the war are primarily children and young people who were deprived of the opportunity to study safely.

The ministers:

• confirmed their readiness to continue vigorous cooperation in the field of education and science;
• remarked on decisive and constant support of the Republic of Poland for Ukrainian pupils, students, lecturers and researchers forced to leave Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation;
• emphasised the need for further development of education of the Polish national minority in Ukraine and the Ukrainian national minority in the Republic of Poland in order to maintain national and cultural identity,
• stressed the need to ensure that all Ukrainian citizens have the opportunity to attend schools in Poland and learn the Ukrainian component;
• recognised the importance of exchanging experiences in the planning, development and management of the higher education system, supporting bilateral academic mobility programmes for students, PhD students, lecturers and researchers, promoting the learning of Ukrainian and Polish languages and supporting research related to the history, language, literature and art of both countries;
• agreed to work further to accelerate the signing of a new Agreement between the Minister of Science of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on cooperation in the field of higher education, which is currently being discussed by the parties in accordance with the laws of both countries, and an Agreement on preschool and secondary education institutions providing general education with Polish as the language of instruction or teaching Polish as a national minority language in Ukraine, as well as in kindergartens and schools with Ukrainian as the language of instruction or teaching Ukrainian as a national minority language in the Republic of Poland;
• agreed to cooperate in the research of the historical and cultural context, which will contribute to deepening mutual understanding and rapprochement between the Ukrainian and Polish peoples, in particular by strengthening ties that have a long history and preserving their common cultural heritage;
• condemned the systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, including the destruction of Ukrainian civilian, educational and research infrastructure;
• recognised the urgent need to restore and rebuild educational infrastructure destroyed as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine and to ensure safe conditions in educational institutions in Ukraine.