Polish FM in Ireland for talks
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
23.11.2016 15:24
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski starts a two-day official visit to Ireland on Wednesday, coinciding with 40 years since Polish-Irish diplomatic relations were established.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski on board his flight to Ireland. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak.
The visit will start with talks with Poles living in Ireland.
“The minister will want to talk with our countrymen about their problems” and what can be done to support them, foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanna Wajda said.
On Thursday Waszczykowski will meet his Irish counterpart Charles Flanagan to discuss matters involving Poles living in Ireland, the future of the European Union after Britain’s decision to leave the bloc and the migration crisis.
Waszczykowski will also meet with Richard Bruton, the Irish education minister, to discuss Polish-language teaching and Polish education in Ireland. Polish is the second-most spoken language in Ireland, after English.
Poland and Ireland set up embassies in each other’s countries in 1976. According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office, some 110,000 Poles live in Ireland, which has a total population of 4.7 million. (vb/pk)
Source: IAR