‘Poland is keen to strengthen economic cooperation with Pakistan’

On Tuesday, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland's minister and coordinator of special services, held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr and voiced Poland's interest in deeper economic links with Pakistan. According to Business Recorder, the visiting official praised Islamabad for its constructive contribution to peace and stability in the region, and he named trade and bilateral engagement as areas to expand. Siemoniak added that defence ties already run deep, largely through the work of Polish Air Force pilots and technicians.

Siemoniak said Poland is looking at cooperation in security, immigration and counter-terrorism, and it wants wider defence and commercial links with Pakistan. Zardari called ties with Poland cordial, grounded in mutual respect, and said he hoped the visit would turn the current collaboration into a multifaceted partnership. He also credited Poland with backing Pakistan under the EU's GSP Plus scheme and with recognising Islamabad's diplomatic work amid the recent US-Iran crisis.

Zardari pointed out that Poland has grown into a trillion-dollar economy since 1991 and stressed that business communities and leaders should interact more often. He urged closer business contact along with regular exchanges at the people and leadership levels. Officials also told the president that a street in Islamabad will carry the name of Air Commodore Wladyslaw Jozef Marian Turowicz, who arrived in 1948 and helped build up the Pakistan Air Force.