PRESIDENT OF POLAND SETS OFF FOR AFRICA

The head of state is once again embarking on a journey to the African continent. This time, he will visit Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania (February 4-10). It marks another trip by President Duda to Africa, with a priority on the development of bilateral cooperation in political, economic, and military dimensions. Par Aleksander Olech

President Jakub Szymczuk

Additionally, Poland intends to combat Russian disinformation in Africa and assess the potential for independent policy-making on the continent. This visit also provides an opportunity for the official opening of the Polish embassy in Rwanda.

President Duda’s last visit to Africa was in 2022 when he visited Senegal, Ivory Coast (which was also visited by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretary of State in the past two weeks), and Nigeria. Although the visits were initially considered successful, there is still a lack of continuity in some of the projects discussed at that time. Importantly, each of these countries is open to cooperation with Poland. Poland has diplomatic missions in Senegal and Nigeria, and Ivory Coast is a priority for the location of the next embassy on the continent.

There was no planned visit in 2023, and hence the delegation is being carried out at the beginning of 2024. The countries were not chosen randomly. Due to recent discussions in West Africa, the Polish diplomatic goal now is to highlight its presence in the eastern part of the continent. This is likely to be the penultimate visit by the Polish president to Africa during his second term.

During President Duda’s tenure, there hasn’t been a significant breakthrough in the African direction, but apart from visits to the continent, notable events include participation in the Global Africa Business Initiative and a meeting with the President of Malawi during a delegation to the USA.