Polish FM on Dutch visit

Late on Monday, Witold Waszczykowski met with the country’s new foreign minister Halbe Zijlstra to talk about European issues, relations with Russia and an upcoming summit of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership programme, according to the Polish foreign ministry.

On Tuesday, Waszczykowski is scheduled to open the 27th session of the so-called Utrecht Conference for Polish and Dutch experts, who will hold consultations on bilateral cooperation and current European affairs, the Polish foreign ministry said, as quoted by the PAP state news agency.

Polish and Dutch experts will meet in five working groups representing the ministries of foreign affairs, the economy, finance, labour and defence, the ministry said.

Launched in 1999 by the Polish and Dutch foreign ministers at the time, Bronisław Geremek and Jozias van Aartsen, the annual Utrecht Conference was originally intended to support Poland’s preparations for EU membership.

While in The Hague, Waszczykowski was also scheduled to visit the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and deliver a lecture on Poland’s vision of the EU’s future to an audience of around 70 public administration officials, diplomats and academics.

(gs/pk)

Source: msz.gov.pl