| President Andrzej Duda pointed out two reasons for his current visit to Australia - the desire to meet with compatriots living there and to develop international cooperation with the country. It was my great dream, in the year of Poland's independence centenary, to meet with my compatriots where they live in the largest communities, in all corners of the world, the Polish President said during a Saturday meeting in Melbourne with the Governor of the state of Victoria, Linda Dessau. He noted that in May he paid a visit to Chicago, where more than a million Poles live, and now he is visiting Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.
Andrzej Duda also indicated the other reason for his visit to Australia is related to the dynamic development of Poland. 'We have great ambitions to develop our international cooperation, above all economic, and we want to persuade Polish entrepreneurs to invest abroad and actively invite investors from abroad,' he stressed.
Andrzej Duda added that this is the first official visit of the President of the Republic of Poland to Australia. 'We believe (...) that it is time for us to carry out economic and political expansion all over the world. We do not have to confine ourselves to Europe,' he said. Andrzej Duda added that he is the first president of an EU country that has come to Australia just after the start of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Australia. 'That is why I will meet with Australian entrepreneurs who are investing in Poland and want to invest in Poland,' the Polish President explained. ' That is why I will take part in the Polish-Australian energy forum and attend the opening of an office of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) in Sydney.
Accompanying Andrzej Duda in Australia is a delegation from Poland's defence ministry headed by Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
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