Polish President set for trade, SE Asian tour
Polish President set for trade, SE Asian tour
Agence France-Presse, Warsaw
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski starts a three-nation tour of South East Asia on Sunday as his country seeks better economic prospects in the region and to make its mark as a global player.
Kwasniewski will kick-off his week-long tour by visiting Singapore from Sunday to Tuesday, where he will meet President S.R. Nathan.
He will then move on to Indonesia to meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri, rounding off his tour in Thailand on Feb. 26, holding talks with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, before departing the following day.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Boguslaw Majewski said the visit was part of the ex-communist country's strategy of spreading its wings, as it prepares to become the biggest new member of the European Union on May 1.
"We are now in a process of reinvigorating foreign policy towards countries outside the European area of interest," Majewski told AFP.
"We are putting emphasis on the economic side of these relations. These three countries are the tiger economies of the region," he said.
Poland, a NATO member since 1999, is the biggest of 10 mainly ex-communist bloc countries on course to join the EU on May 1.
After proving itself as one of Washington's staunchest allies in the war which toppled ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, its international stature was also boosted when it was chosen to head a 9,000-strong multinational force administering one of the Gulf- country's post-war zones.
When unveiling Poland's annual foreign policy priorities last month, Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said Poland's EU membership would have a knock-on effect on relations with Asia.
He said efforts in the region would focus on "the development of political dialogue, invigoration of economic cooperation and improvement of the trade balance".
While Warsaw sees largely eye to eye with Thailand on Iraq -- Bangkok has contributed soldiers to the Polish-led force there -- it has a diametrically opposed view to Indonesia, which has the biggest Muslim population in the world and opposed the U.S.-led war.
Marchinus Samosir, a senior diplomat at Indonesia's Embassy in Warsaw, said differences over Iraq would be brushed under the carpet at the talks, with the focus being on the economy and trade.
"We agree to differ," he said. "The visit mainly concerns economic matters.'
Poland, which imports mainly clothes from Asia, is seeking to redress a hefty trade imbalance with the countries of the region, touting its arms in a bid to bridge the yawning gap.
In 2003 it exported US$800 million worth of arms and hopes a success in the region last year, selling Malaysia 48 PT-91M assault tanks worth 1.4 billion ringgit ($368 million), will help attract new sales.
It has already made a dent in the Indonesian market, with Polish aeronautics group PZL Swidnik signing a an estimated $10 million contract with the Indonesian police to deliver 11 Mi-2 helicopters last year.
A memorandum of understanding on military cooperation opening new possibilities is up for signature during the Indonesia leg of Kwasniewski's tour.