In an official letter sent to Polish ambassador in London, Arkady Rzegocki, Shapps expressed his profound "gratitude and appreciation for the support offered by the Polish government in easing the significant disruption in Kent in recent weeks."
"The assistance of Poland's Territorial Defence Force with testing was invaluable in getting many thousands of drivers safely across the border and back to their families as quickly as possible," Shapps added.
In a response to the letter on twitter, Rzegocki thanked Shapps for Polish-British cooperation in solving the problem.
"Let's remember that we are stronger, when we are together," Rzegocki added.
A group of Polish healthcare professionals deployed to the UK on Christmas Eve, after several thousand Polish truck drivers were left stranded in the British port after France closed its border due to a new, highly contagious coronavirus strain detected in parts of the UK.
France reopened the border later in the week, but only to drivers testing negative for COVID-19.
Authorities in Britain said that all drivers would be tested as soon as possible, but it would take time to roll out the tests to some of the 8,000-10,000 truckers stranded in the area, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
The Polish foreign ministry said on Twitter on December 25: "Thanks to hard work overnight by Polish and British medics as well as the Polish consular service in the UK, truck traffic in the UK port of Dover has been restored and was running smoothly this morning. Bravo!"
Dworczyk said at the time that Poland decided to send its medical professionals to Britain because it could not leave its citizens "without support in such a situation.”
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Source: PAP