Geopolitics
Waszczykowski’s Visit to Turkey: We Count On The Turkish Defence Industry’s Interest In Collaboration with Poland
Witold Waszczykowski, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs made an official visit to Turkey. There, he met the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as the Turkish Minister of Foreign affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. The main issue covered by the talks was the bilateral collaboration, however, the Ministers also discussed the relations between Turkey and the European Union, migration crisis and the security situation in the Middle East. We also count on the Turkish defence industry’s interest in collaboration with Poland – as the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs informed.
The visit to Ankara began with a meeting involving Waszczykowski and the President of Turkey, Erdogan. During the talks, the Polish Minister expressed his hope that the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw, scheduled to take place in July, will lead to important decisions reinforcing the alliance’s Eastern Flank. President Erdogan noted the fact that Poland is a unique partner to Turkey, saying that the relations with Poland have, throughout the recent period, gained a new, very dynamic profile. President of Turkey expressed his gratefulness for the Polish endorsement of the Turkish struggle to join the European Union. Moreover, both parties hope to expand the economic cooperation. Waszczykowski noted that “The tenders related to expansion of infrastructure in Poland may become a driving force in development of our economic relations. We also count on interest on the part of the defence sector, in collaboration with Poland – as the Polish Minister stated.
After the meeting, Witold Waszczykowski also talked to the head of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. During this part of the visit, security situation in the Middle East and Turkish relations with the European Union were thoroughly discussed. We would like the Union to assist Turkey in tackling the problems caused by the conflicts happening in its neighbourhood.We would like to solve the problems emerging from the migration crises – as the Polish Minister said. Waszczykowski’s Turkish counterpart stressed the fact that Turkey currently provides an asylum for 3 millions of refugees from Iraq and Syria. He also emphasized the need of providing them with a proper healthcare and education for the children among that group.
According to the information released by the press office of the Polish Ministry of Foreign affairs, Waszczykowski, during his visit, also met the Turkish PM, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and the Head of the Turkish Parliament, Ismail Kahraman, discussing the bilateral relations, also within the scope of collaboration in the area of security policy.