Polish president starts visit to Denmark
The forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw, regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea and the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline are the main topics of a visit to Denmark by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
President Duda and his wife Agata are leaving for Copenhagen on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, the beginning of the two-day visit, President Duda will take part in a Polish-Danish business forum.
According to presidential minister Krzysztof Szczerski, the forum will focus on energy, health care, agriculture and environment protection.
In the afternoon the Polish president will be received by Queen Margrethe II in private audience. Later in the day President Duda will meet with Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
Szczerski said that the visit to Denmark was connected with the July NATO summit in Warsaw. The talks with the Danish PM will focus, among others, on "Denmark's declaration as an important partner in the alliance" and common moves for security in the Baltic Sea".
Szczerski stressed that the Danish visit marked the beginning of the president's broader economic activity and steps aimed at increasing Poland's economic security.
"The proposal to build the Baltic Pipe is an example of strategic Polish-Danish cooperation. (...) We hope that the Polish president's visit to Denmark will show (...) that this is both a business project and a project designed to build economic security of Central Europe," Szczerski said.
The Polish president will be accompanied in Denmark by Polish government commissioner for strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski.
The Baltic Pipe gas pipeline is planned to connect Polish and Danish gas systems.
Szczerski said that Polish-Danish relations were also significant in the EU context. Denmark stresses the role of national parliaments and the subjectivity of member countries in the integration process, he explained.
Later in the day the Polish presidential couple will take part in the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Lucjan and Anna Masloch, members of wartime anti-Nazi resistance in Denmark. "The Polish-Danish couple was killed three days after their wedding which took place in the cathedral where the plaque will be unveiled. He is the only foreigner buried at the cemetery of war heroes and his wife is the only woman lying there," Szczerski said.
On Friday, the president will deliver a lecture on the NATO summit in Warsaw at the University of Copenhagen. Earlier on Friday, the Polish president will lay a wreath at the monument to Danish soldiers fallen in peace-keeping operations since 1948.
In the evening the Polish presidential couple will meet with Poles living in Denmark.
While in Denmark, Poland's First Lady will meet with the UN deputy secretary general and UNICEF staff. (PAP)
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