Poland should aim at joining G20, says president
Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, has said in a televised New Year's address that Poland's membership of the grouping that gathers the world's 20 largest economies should be the direction for the country in the coming years and decades.
"Poland has found itself in a place which has recently seemed difficult to achieve," Nawrocki said in a message delivered on Wednesday night, adding that development, security and a better life of the Polish people should also be the country's target in 2026.
"We will take part in talks held by G20, a group gathering the world's 20 largest economies," he continued, adding he has been the first Polish president to attend a summit of the organisation.
Nawrocki had been invited to next year's G20 summit in Florida by US President Donald Trump during his visit to the White House in September. The United States assumed the 2026 Presidency of G20 on December 1, 2025 and the group's meeting is to be held at Trump's estate in Doral.
Nawrocki said that Poland's presence at the summit "is the result of the work of generations of the Polish people," and added that all the Poles had significantly contributed to this success.
"It is our task now to make this direction a lasting one. Poland's G20 membership should be the direction for years and decades to come," he said.
According to the president, a country which aims to belong to a group gathering the world's largest economies must be ambitious, modern, efficient and just.
"Only an economically powerful state can be militarily strong. We must consistently build and expand our armed forces. Peace is expensive, but war always costs more," he said.
"Poland is strong in NATO, but, above all, we must count on ourselves," the president concluded.
The G20 is an important international forum bringing together the major economies of the world accounting for more than 80 percent of global GDP, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the African Union. (PAP)
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