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Ukraine war could last 'a long time': Polish president

21.06.2022 00:30
Poland’s president has said that Russia's war against Ukraine could last a long time, presenting serious challenges to economies.
Andrzej Duda.
Andrzej Duda.PAP/Marcin Obara

Andrzej Duda made the remark in a letter to participants in a business conference in the northern Polish port city of Gdynia, state news agency PAP reported.

The letter was read out on Monday by his aide Piotr Karczewski.

Duda stated: “The war may last for a long time, presenting us with serious challenges.”

He added that Poland had been "more discerning than most" about the threats that loomed on the horizon in recent years. 

“One of our significant achievements has been our efforts to diversify the sources of energy imports,” the president wrote, referring to Poland's policy of ending its reliance on Russian hydrocarbons, especially after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

Duda also said in his message that Gdynia, which celebrated its centenary last year, was "an apt place in which to note recent investments in Polish infrastructure and the country’s maritime industry.”

Duda went on to state that "despite difficult and turbulent times," Poland had "reasons to be optimistic."

“Every crisis, even a multi-layered one, contains potential for change that we should be able to exploit,” the president wrote.

‘Poland’s economic centre of gravity will move north’: PM

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the Gdynia conference that “thanks to investments in seaports, the Vistula Spit canal and the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, Poland’s economic centre of gravity will soon move to the north of the country.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, you have an enormous opportunity to realise the potential that is emerging in northern Poland and I have no doubt that this opportunity will be seized,” Morawiecki said.

He added that "in the current circumstances," Poland’s sovereignty may depend on the swiftness of its economic policy. 

He also told the conference that the Polish economy should evolve to become “more resilient in the face of potential further crises.”

The Gdynia conference, called the Development Vision Forum, runs until Tuesday.

It brings together economists, policymakers, scholars and entrepreneurs to explore the biggest challenges facing the Polish economy.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, wnp.pl, wizjarozwoju.pl