The Economic Forum in Karpacz was attended by representatives of many countries, chambers of commerce that advertised companies from their countries. What are currently the biggest challenges for Polish diplomacy?
The Forum was first held 32 years ago in Krynica. From the very beginning, the intention of the organisers was to create a platform to talk about the biggest regional and global challenges and problems. Today we face a unique situation, as we are relatively close to the frontline. A number of issues were discussed at the forum first in Krynica and later in Karpacz. We talked about the possibility of war in the East during various debates. Issues that are the biggest challenges of today's world and, above all, of our region, Central and Eastern Europe, receive the most attention.
Next year Poland takes over the presidency of the European Union. What key issues should we bring to the European and world agenda?
It is a unique challenge because the whole world experiences turmoil. There is the war in Ukraine, there is the trade war between the great powers, there is the mass migration, which is not getting any weaker and will even increase. Leaders all over the world are adopting populist policies. There are more questions than answers. The task of the Polish presidency will be to tackle these challenges across the EU.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski is in Southeast Asia, earlier the most important man in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visited Poland, and President Andrzej Duda visited China. What can Poland do to better position itself in its relations with the biggest global players?
By continuing to follow the current approach. Minister Sikorski is the right man for the times and the challenges. The foreign minister is tasked with representing the Polish national interest, which is to seek alliances and allies and to engage in dialogue. We are not equal to the great powers, but we have our space that we can use. We are useful. During the Cold War, Polish diplomats in Warsaw mediated between the United States and China. Even more so today, when we are a full member of the EU and have our standing, capabilities and resources, we have the capacity to participate in this dialogue and even initiate it.
It is clear that Chinese business is heading to Europe. It is starting to appear in Hungary and Serbia. Other countries are also competing for Chinese investments. Are investors from the Middle Kingdom going to be present more and more often in this part of Europe?
China is a world power, and it has long-term policies. It has an economic strategy not for a term, but for decades. There's no point in being offended at China. We should follow the country’s example and develop our own policies. It seems that the European Union today lacks such a long-term policy in various key areas. The same is true for Poland. The lack of policies in various areas has always been our weakness. We tend to think in terms of the next election or in terms of the allocation of EU funds. The time horizon is the date when these funds have to be spent. We need to change our thinking and build long-term projects.
