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Israeli FM to visit Warsaw on Wednesday

21.03.2023 12:00
Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will visit Warsaw on Wednesday, the Polish foreign ministry has announced.
The Polish foreign ministry building in Warsaw.
The Polish foreign ministry building in Warsaw.Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

"Tomorrow Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will pay a visit to Poland and meet Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau," the Polish foreign ministry's spokesman, Łukasz Jasina, said in a tweet on Tuesday.

He added that more information would "follow soon."

The announcement came after the Polish foreign ministry said last week that Poland and Israel had reached "an initial agreement" to resume visits by organized groups of Israeli youth to Poland.

The Polish foreign ministry spokesman said earlier this month that "Poland invariably remains ready to welcome and host Israeli citizens ... travelling individually and in organized groups, based on existing agreements between our countries."

The spokesman added at the time: "We are in favour of promoting people-to-people contact between Poles and Israelis, especially regarding the younger generation, as it is crucial to increase the understanding between our peoples."

Young Jewish Israelis traditionally take summer trips to Poland, including visits to former Nazi-built death camps to study the Holocaust and pay tribute to those murdered, The Times of Israel has reported.

The trip has long been considered a rite of passage in Israeli education and, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, some 40,000 Israeli students participated each year, according to the timesofisrael.com website.

However, in June last year the tours were halted due to a dispute over their content and security issues, according to news reports.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl, timesofisrael.com