Poland will step up presence in Africa – Minister

Poland aims to step up its presence in Africa, the country’s foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz  has said at the sideline of the COP24.

Jacek Czaputowicz was speaking in the southern Polish city of Katowice where he talked with his counterpart from the Republic of the Congo on the sidelines of a UN climate conference on Monday.

“Poland wants to step up its presence in Africa,” Czaputowicz declared, as quoted by the Polish foreign ministry.

He noted that he recently paid a visit to Senegal, where he re-opened a Polish embassy in Dakar.

“We are also interested in cooperating with the Republic of the Congo,” Czaputowicz said.

During his meeting with Congo’s Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso, Czaputowicz discussed prospects for closer trade relations and economic cooperation between the two countries, “specifically in the mining and agricultural sectors and in green technologies,” the Polish foreign ministry said.

Czaputowicz last month held talks with Senegal’s top diplomat, Sidiki Kaba, in Dakar, where he also attended an international conference on peace and security in Africa.

Czaputowicz in June met ambassadors from sub-Saharan African countries in Warsaw. During the meeting, he said that Poland saw major potential and multiple business opportunities in Africa.

He added that the government in Warsaw was interested in developing relations with countries in the region.

Thousands of decision makers from around the world have flocked to the southern Polish city of Katowice for the United Nations’ COP24 climate change conference that opened on Monday.

The 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP24, runs in Katowice until December 14.