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The President of the Republic is on a state visit to the Republic of Poland18.03.2002
 This morning, attending the official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, President Arnold Rüütel and Mrs Ingrid Rüütel continued their state visit to the Republic of Poland, commenced yesterday. Our presidential couple was welcomed by the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, and Mrs Jolanta Kwasniewska. A meeting of the delegations headed by the Presidents ensued.
President Kwasniewski recalled his pleasant earlier meetings with the President of Estonia and emphasized that the relations between Estonia and Poland were very good. He stressed that, for now, the Estonian-Polish relationship had reached a new stage of development: both countries bank on being together in the European Union as well as in NATO soon. President Kwasniewski emphasized Poland strongly supporting the admission of Estonia to NATO at the Prague summit in the autumn. According to Kwasniewski, Poland is interested in close co-operation with the Baltic and other states of the Baltic Sea region, as well as with the Kaliningrad province of Russia. In view of the Polish President, both sides have unused possibilities in the economic sphere, however, our cultural co-operation is developing well. President Aleksander Kwasniewski placed great hopes on the present visit regarding both the military and the economic co-operation.
In view of President Arnold Rüütel, the Estonian-Polish contacts, reaching back over centuries, have laid strong foundations of our co-operation. The President underlined that, during the last decade, both countries had managed to succeed in developing their economies. The rapid development has secured Poland an outstanding place amid the transition countries of the Baltic Sea region. The President deemed it necessary to advance regional co-operation also in the European Union enlarging.
Participating in the discussion between the delegations, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Liina Tõnisson, underlined the Estonian interest in enlivening the economic relations between the two countries. Tõnisson highlighted the need to develop the Via Baltica route to enable the carriage of goods and passenger traffic in the north-south-direction to flow smoothly.
The Minister of Defence, Sven Mikser, recognized Poland as a model of Estonia while developing its defence capabilities. The Polish delegation highlighted Estonia's achievements in building up its defence structures and considered the Estonian prospects of being invited to join NATO to be good.
At noon, the President of the Republic had a meeting in the Polish Chamber of Commerce.
Thereafter, the President hosted a lunch to the Prime Minister of Poland, Leszek Miller. At the lunch, the importance of mutual contacts in the field of culture and education was stressed. Leszek Miller affirmed the Polish support to Estonia's accession to NATO and commended the economic development of Estonia. While talking about the issues of accession to the European Union, our bargaining positions on agriculture were under discussion. In Poland, one fourth of working population are engaged in farming, in Estonia only five per cent. The Prime Minister took interest in the development of relations between Estonia and Russia, and in important transit routes of the region. The President stressed the importance of completing the Via Baltica.
In the afternoon, President Rüütel will visit the building of the Parliament of Poland, where he will meet the Marshal of the Senat, Longin Pastusiak, and the Marshal of the Sejm, Marek Borowski.
Later on this afternoon, the President of the Republic will deliver a lecture on "The Future of Poland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea Region" at the Warsaw Technical University. In the evening, the President of Poland will host a dinner in honour of the Estonian Head of State.
Tomorrow, the President will be in Bialystok meeting local officials, visiting the Bialystok Medical Academy, opening a business seminar and visiting the Bialystok University. In the afternoon, the President will visit the Ponar-Narew Tractor Plant.
Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, March 18, 2002
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