From 7-12 June, AIIA Chief Executive Officer Dr Bryce Wakefield travelled to Warsaw for discussions with Polish government officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence, the National Security Bureau, and international advisers to the President of Poland at the presidential palace. He also spoke to experts on foreign affairs at the nation’s major think tanks and the University of Warsaw. His discussions ranged from the state of Polish domestic politics after the July 3 presidential election to the way Poland’s foreign policy community views the Indo-Pacific.
“It is clear that Poland is a deeply polarised country,” says Wakefield, “but there is a broad consensus around issues such as the need to strengthen the international multilateral system and on the need to cooperate in areas around mis- and disinformation and cyber security. Strategically, Poland will of course need to focus on its own neighbourhood in the current international environment, but there is plenty of space for fruitful discussions with countries like Australia that on many issues share similar views.”
“This should happen at all levels of society, not just among officials, but between scholars and experts of our respective countries.”
