Although president Andrzej Duda admitted that during his short visit to the White House last night, he and US President Donald Trump did not sign any new agreements. The meeting between the two heads of states simply laid the groundwork for the strengthening of relations between Poland and the United States. The atmosphere in Washington seems to prove that the relations between the two countries have never been closer.
During the joint press conference, the presidents of Poland and the US announced the strengthening of defence cooperation, including the raising of American military presence in Poland via the transfer of troops from Germany. President Trump stressed that Poland is fulfilling its financial obligations to NATO by allocating 2% of its GDP to defence. He then once again criticised Germany for failing to do so. The American head of state also pointed out the current priorities in the relations of Poland and the US.
“It guarantees not only more security for Poland, but also for the entire European Union and the eastern flank of NATO. It will give Poland more faith and investment credibility mainly from the American investors”, president Duda commented on the transfer of the American troops.
What’s more, both presidents spoke about the cooperation of American and Polish scientists in the research on coronavirus vaccine and medicine. Poland is to be among one of the first countries to receive such a vaccine once it is created.
“Thank you for your declaration on cooperating in the fight against the coronavirus, that our scientists will work together on anything that might help us defeat this pandemic.”
Trump also wished Duda success in the upcoming presidential elections…
The Polish president was the first foreign leader to have met with POTUS since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“As Mr President just said, we are developing our relations in terms of energy security. Today, it should be stressed that the United States is cooperating well in terms of establishing good energy security, not only for Poland, but for the entire Central Europe. Mr President just mentioned the countries of the Three Seas initiative. Yes, all the investments we are realising in Poland, like the expansion of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście where we are expanding its capacity to 2.5 billion cubic metres, or the construction of the new terminal in Gdańsk, are to provide the countries of Central Europe with an alternative other than Russia when it comes to purchasing gas. We want to create a real alternative, to diversify the delivery of gas. That is how we can improve our energy security. Thank you, Mr President for this cooperation. I hope we will continue to develop it. Today, these deliveries are secured until 2023 but I am sure we will keep making new agreements on this, as the demand will only rise”, stated Duda during the press conference.
Following Duda’s visit in Washington, the Polish head of state wrote on Twitter: “Poland cannot wait to improve some more on our partnership with the United States, since we are working together to secure a good future for both our nations”.