Obama’s agenda - ‘democratisation and trade’

Poland’s cooperation with the US in Afghanistan and NATO will also be a priority, Ambassador Kupiecki told journalists at a press conference given at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC on Wednesday.

Next week, President Obama will visit Ireland, Britain and Poland. He is scheduled to arrive in Ireland on May 23 and will go on to London the next day for a state visit by invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.

President Obama will then participate in a G8 Summit and then travel to Poland on May 27 where he will be taking part in an Eastern and Central European summit in Warsaw.

In Poland, “President Obama will participate in a working dinner of heads of state [of Central and eastern Europe],” Ambassador Kupiecki said.

President Obama will also be having talks with Prime Minister Donald Tusk on bi-lateral and global issues and “strategic dialogue,” he said.

“In the last couple of years we have seen steady growth in trade between our two countries. The figures are very significant. But there are projects, mostly connected to shale gas deposits in Poland, of interest to American companies, which will occupy the time of the leadership of our countries [at the meeting],” the ambassador said.

Visas

“The talks will also have a European context as Poland takes over the EU presidency on 1 July. There is also a regional aspect to the talks. Poland is the only Schengen Zone member still not a member of the visa-waiver programme [to visit the US],” he continued.

“I will remind you that President Obama has said that by the end of his presidency he would like to solve this problem,” Ambassador Kupiecki emphasised.

There will also be an announcement in Warsaw on “progress on the issue of US troops on Polish soil,” he said, referring to F-16 aircraft which will be transferred from the Aviano base in Italy to Poland.

“I'm not sure whether will be able to announce that we have reached an agreement during the visit but we are close,” he said.

“This is important because an increased presence of US forces in Poland would not only strengthen [Poland’s] security, but will also benefit NATO,” says Ambassador Kupiecki. (pg)