US state secretary in Poland for Middle East conference
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
12.02.2019 13:11
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was expected to arrive in Poland on Tuesday ahead of an international conference in Warsaw on the Middle East.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a meeting at the Hungarian Defence Ministry in Budapest on Monday. Photo: EPA/Tamas Kovacs
Pompeo was expected to hold talks with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on Tuesday about security, energy and bilateral trade.
On Thursday Pompeo and Czaputowicz were due to host a conference at Warsaw’s National Stadium on security in the Middle East.
US Vice President Mike Pence was set to arrive in the Polish capital on Wednesday.
He was scheduled to give keynote remarks at the Warsaw conference, which is being organised jointly by Poland and the United States on Wednesday and Thursday.
Dozens of countries have reportedly confirmed their participation in the high-profile event, which is expected to be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and officials from Arab countries.
The gathering is officially known as the “Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East.”
According to a joint Polish-US statement cited by the foreign ministry in Warsaw last month, the gathering on February 13 and 14 aims to be "a forum for countries concerned about instability in the region to share their assessments and offer ideas on a better way forward."
Meanwhile, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he would talk with Pence and Pompeo about tightening links between Warsaw and Washington.
The Polish government, which is wary of Russia, its giant neighbour to the east, has been conducting negotiations on a permanent US troop presence in Poland.
Poland is on Wednesday expected to sign a contract to buy 20 HIMARS artillery rocket systems from the United States for USD 414 million as part of a military modernisation drive.
(pk/gs)
Source: IAR