ISLAMABAD:President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said Pakistan valued its cordial relations with Poland, which were based on mutual respect, and expressed hope that the visit of the Polish dignitary would transform existing bilateral cooperation into a multifaceted partnership for the mutual benefit of the two nations.
He was talking to Minister, Member of the Council of Ministers and Coordinator of Special Services of the Republic of Poland, Tomasz Siemoniak, who called on him here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, a Presidency’s news release said.
The president appreciated Poland’s recognition of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts during the recent US-Iran crisis. He reiterated that Pakistan, as a responsible state, was sincerely working for the resolution of disputes through dialogue for the sake of regional and global peace and stability.
Commending Poland’s remarkable economic transformation since 1991, which had culminated in a trillion-dollar economy, President Zardari stressed the importance of transforming the historical friendship through enhanced interaction among the business communities, and frequent people-to-people and leadership-level exchanges.
The president also thanked Poland for its support to Pakistan on the European Union’s GSP Plus scheme. He expressed confidence that the two countries would reinforce their existing coordination at regional and multilateral forums.
Tomasz Siemoniak appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting regional peace and stability. He expressed Poland’s desire to further strengthen bilateral cooperation with Pakistan, particularly through enhanced engagement at the political, economic and people-to-people levels.
He conveyed warm greetings from the President and the Prime Minister of Poland to President Zardari. He said Poland and Pakistan enjoyed strong and traditional ties, including in the field of defence, particularly through the contribution of Polish Air Force pilots and technicians.
He said Poland was exploring different possibilities for cooperation, especially in the fields of security, immigration and combating terrorism, and wanted to further expand defence and economic ties with Pakistan.
The president was also informed that a street in Islamabad was being named after Air Commodore Wladyslaw Józef Marian Turowicz, who served with the Polish Air Force and later with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He came to Pakistan in 1948 at the invitation of the Pakistani authorities, along with around 30 other Polish pilots, engineers and technicians, and contributed to the development of the Pakistan Air Force.
Ambassador of Poland to Pakistan Maciej Pisarski, Head of the Military Counter-Intelligence Service Gen. Jaroslaw Strózyk, Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency Col. Waldemar Mularczyk and Director of the National Security Department, Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Col. Maciej Matysiak, attended the meeting from the Polish side.
Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and former Federal Minister Naveed Qamar were also present.