"Today, Poland is a country of sustainable development and solid economic foundations well recognized internationally."
by Ms. Joanna Wasiewska, Charge d'Affaires a.i, Embassy of Poland
3rd of May is a very special date for Poland. On this day in 1791 the Polish Parliament
adopted constitution which became a milestone in the world’s history of law and a triumph of modern democracy. It is worth noting that it was the
first modern constitution in the European continent and second constitution in the world
after The American Declaration of Independence of 4th July 1776.
Warsaw the Royal Baths |
Unfortunately,the aftermath of the adoption of the constitution was not favorable for
the fate of Polish nation, and in the years to come Poland was divided between the
neighbors and disappeared from the map of Europe for the next 123 years. Five
generations of Poles managed to survived under partition only thanks to patriotism
and devotion to our national values.
Tatra national park |
Today, Poland is a country of sustainable development and solid economic foundations
well recognized internationally. A.T. Kearney - an independent global management
consulting firm predicts, that Poland will be among seven countries positioned to
outperform their peers and play a greater role in the world economy through 2020.
At the same time, Poland is among countries catching up the fastest in terms of
easiness of doing business. Last year it climbed up in the global ranking to 24th place.
Moreover,economic growth in Polandis estimated to increase to 3.1 percent in 2017,
up from 2.5 percent in 2016 outperforming EU average growth at the level of 1.6
percent. This record underlines constantly raising GDP in recent years, which has grown
almost twofold in 15 years.
Kamienice wawa |
As far as bilateral economic relations between Poland and Korea are concerned, Poland
is a leading trade partner of South Korea in Central Europe. We generate the highest
turnover among new members of European Union and the economic cooperation
between Poland and Korea is a pivotal part of the bilateral relationship. In 2016, the
volume of bilateral trade reached more than 3,9 billion USD, and it is expected that
the growth will continue through 2017 and 2018.
At the same time, Poland is a number one destination for Korean investors in Europe.
Currently, our mutual trade exchange involves especially mechanical and electrical
equipment as well as articles of base metal and for the foreseeable future this will
remain our main field of cooperation. Korean cars and electronic devices are well known
and widely used in Poland and we are expecting them to become even more popular
in the years to come. Korean investments in Poland have become a vital element of
Polish-Korean economic cooperation and are incredibly important for the Polish economy,
mainly because of their advanced technology.
Polish Day banner |
Despite geographical distance and different cultural backgrounds, thecooperation
between Poland and Korea is flourishing in many areas. The continuous engagement in
cultural projects has the power of openingnumerous channels of communication and
understanding that strengthen the connection between Poland and Korea.
Just couple of days ago we proudly held the "Polish Day" in the heart of Seoul. Whole
day festival of Polish cultureat the Cheonggye Plaza transformed it into a colorful family
fair filled withKoreans and tourists who discovered Poland and enjoyed Polish food as
well as Polish products available in Korea such as cosmetics, pottery, aronia, sweets.
At the festival, the lucky ones won plane tickets to Poland, sponsored by LOT Polish
Airlines, which in October 2016 launched a direct flight connection between Warsaw
and Seoul 3 times per week. From 4th of July this year, there will be 5 flights per week.
Both nations will get even more opportunities to get to know each other even better
so that our relations will flourish even more.
<Polish Constitution Day 2017 reception>
"When it comes to security on Korean Peninsula, we are determined to continue
providing our support": Charge d’Affaires a.i. Mrs. Joanna Wasiewska
The relative importance of one Ambassador is directly reflected in a national day
reception one country's Embassy hosts. Polish Constitution Day 2017 reception Poland
Embassy in Seoul hosted in a hotel Seoul last Wendesday evening, was no exception in
that regard.
Former Poland Amb. Kyzysztof Majka & Madame Zofia Majka were envoy couple whose
enthusiastic desire to learn something was very strong among diplomatic community in
Seoul, according to our experience shared with them during NDNnews regional tour
programs.
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They shared with us, for example Gwangyang Apricot Festival, Jeungpyeung Nonghyeop
Red Ginseng factory tour to name just a few, during their duty in Seoul as Poland Amb.
couple, including many article contributions into The Seoul City magazine. In that sense,
NDNnews missed the existence & memory of Poland Amb. Majka couple in that the
reception size of the Polish Constitution Day 2017 this year was a little smaller compared
with previous large Poland Embassy Constitution Day receptions Poland Amb. Majka
hosted in the past, mostly in the Grand Ball Room, Millennium Seoul Hilton.
In particular during Amb. Majka's duty period, many events were recorded including
former Poland President's official visit to Korea, Poland Foreign Minister's visit, the
launching of Poland Airline LOT's direct flight to Seoul, to name just a few which
contributed greatly to elevate strategic partnerships between Korea & Poland and
people-to-people contacts among others. Above all, Poland Amb. couple were arts lovers who
attended in many music concerts frequently.
Anyway, Charge d’Affaires a.i. Mrs. Joanna Wasiewska of Poland started to emphasize in the 2017 Polish
Constitution Day reception that we are proud to have adopted the first modern
constitution in Europe, second in the world, just after the American one.
It was noteworthy during her speech that next year, in 2018, we will celebrate a
hundred-year anniversary of Polish Independence and in 2019, 30 years of diplomatic relations
between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Korea. She said: "I am pleased to
say that friendship between Poland and Korea is strong and worth celebrating. Our
Polish-Korean Strategic Partnership is developing dynamically, through various projects,
exchanges and tasks every year".
In terms of her duty perspective as Head of Political and Economic Section at the
Embassy, she pointed out that Polish-Korean Strategic Partnership is built on a strong economic partnership. Last year our
countries recorded trade turnover of more than 3 billion 5 hundred million dollars and
the Polish export grew 16% reaching more than 5 hundred million dollars, according
to Mrs. Joanna Wasiewska.
Last but not least, for the last 64 years, we’ve been engaged in strengthening the security in the region as a member of the Neutral
Nations Supervisory Commission, she added, pledging that when it comes to security
on Korean Peninsula, we are determined to continue providing our support.