Polish president to visit Southeast Asia to boost cooperation
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, will pay a visit to Malaysia and Singapore this week to hold talks on investments and security, a presidential aide has told PAP.
Duda, who will visit Malaysia and Singapore on June 9-13 with his wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, will present Poland as a successful country and a good and attractive investment location, Wojciech Kolarski said.
"This will be the first visit by the Polish president to Malaysia in 26 years," Kolarski continued, adding that the previous visit by the Polish head of state had been paid to that country by Aleksander Kwasniewski in 1999.
"The presence of a head of state in this part of the world is proof that their country is interested in cooperation. And thus this visit will be beneficial for our collaboration and development of investments," he added.
According to Kolarski, Poland must be active in Southeast Asia as the region has been developing fast and its economic and political importance has been growing.
"President Duda is going to Malaysia and Singapore to make it easier for Polish businessmen to gain access to local markets and to encourage Malaysian and Singaporean entrepreneurs to invest in Poland," Kolarski continued.
While in Singapore, President Duda will take part in a business forum, which will also be attended by a group of Polish businessmen. The event has been co-organised by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIiH).
The president will also pay a visit to Port Dickson in Malaysia where he will take part in the presentation of Poland's offer of military equipment. "This is a promising area of future cooperation," Kolarski said, adding that Malaysia had already bought nearly 50 PT-91M Pendekander Polish tanks.
Talks are also under way with Malaysia on the opening of its market to Polish agri-produce, he added.
According to Kolarski, security talks will also be an important topic of the visit as Russia's invasion of Ukraine is being observed and analysed also in the Indo-Pacific region.
Kolarski declared that President Duda would present his opinion on the matter, which had not changed from the very beginning, and would underline that the war in Ukraine should end in such a way so that Russia's aggression is halted.
The presidential aide stated that the main goal of Duda's visit to Southeast Asia was not to sign political and economic agreements but to create a climate which would be beneficial to the development of mutual relations and foreign investments in Poland.
Referring to Singapore, Kolarski described it as a gate to the entire Asia and a trade superpower. "Singapore is for us a key partner in the region. Owing to its economic strength, it is an extremely attractive investor." (PAP)
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