Mateusz Morawiecki made the declaration after holding talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Following their meeting at the White House, the Polish prime minister told a media briefing: “Poland proposes a strategic partnership at all levels with the US.”
He added: “This proposal is being met with huge acceptance from the other side.”
Morawiecki stated that Poland was advocating for “the trans-Atlantic alliance in the broadest sense,” describing it as ”an extremely important thing for us and the whole of Europe.”
The prime minister said he was pleased that “Washington realises that the US has few allies in Europe who are as close to them as Poland.”
Morawiecki declared: “Close relations between Poland and the US are the best vaccine against Russian imperialism.”
Support for Ukraine
He added: “And I am very pleased that this is understood both in Warsaw and in Washington. The White House and Vice President Harris understand the risks posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We discussed these topics thoroughly.”
Morawiecki said that the United States would “continue to supply weapons to Ukraine” and that "in this connection," he had spoken to the US vice president about “the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Abrams tanks,” among other military equipment.
Business links, energy, defence
The prime minister said he and Harris had also discussed “the presence of American business, American energy industry and American defence industry in Poland.”
He told reporters that over the past year, the ties between Warsaw and Washington “had become much closer,” with the two countries “launching many new bilateral projects that are of key importance to us.”
Morawiecki said the talks had touched upon civil nuclear energy.
He said: “In this respect, the presence of American investors [in Poland] is especially intensive and especially significant.”
The prime minister told the media that “it’s not just the presence of American troops and US Army bases, but also the vast presence of American business in Poland that strengthens our security,” the PAP news agency reported.
'There will be more US investment' in Poland
He stated: “Today I can announce that there will be more US investment, highly advanced investment in Poland … including in the defence industry.” He added: “It’s extremely important for building and cementing the Polish-American alliance.”
Morawiecki revealed that new Polish-American business projects would be in “high-tech fields" such as "cloud computing technology, artificial intelligence, the internet and machine learning."
He said he and Harris had also discussed defence technology, including “tanks, rocket launcher systems, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence, drones and all the super-modern systems offered by American companies.”
The Polish prime minister, who is making a three-day visit to America, said he would visit several US defence contractors on Wednesday to discuss “bringing these investments to the Polish market,” which would mean “a huge injection of additional capital, additional jobs and technology.”
Morawiecki said he would talk about “long-term cooperation with American contractors when it comes to weapons purchases,” from F-35 fighter jets to tanks and air defence systems, as well as “enticing American companies to invest in Poland.”
He pledged to allocate “additional funds from the state budget to prepare the infrastructure for American investors, because it will help create hundreds of thousands of additional jobs.”
American military presence in Poland
Morawiecki said his talks with Harris had also focused on the presence of US troops in Poland.
He said: “Vice President Harris said that the permanent presence of US soldiers would be strengthened.”
Morawiecki told reporters: “”I am very pleased that Vice President Harris mentioned not only the additional presence of several thousand troops, but also the creation of a new base and storage facilities for the American weapons and equipment.”
He said that “soldiers can be deployed quickly, but what matters the most today is the equipment.”
The prime minister added: “This is demonstrated by the Russian aggression with which we and our eastern neighbours have had to deal. And so there will be more and more [US] military equipment in Poland.”
Morawiecki reiterated his description of Poland as "an increasingly important partner for the United States.”
He said: “We are seen as a country that is pursuing a common-sense policy within the European Union.”
He told reporters that he and Harris had discussed “cyber security, military security, but also threats related to the Far East, migration and climate change.”
‘I thanked PM Morawiecki for Poland’s leadership on Ukraine’: US VP
Meanwhile, Harris said in a tweet after meeting Morawiecki: “Today, I thanked Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki for Poland’s leadership on Ukraine, energy security, and climate, and reaffirmed America’s ironclad commitment to NATO.”
Harris added: “Our two nations' shared democratic values underpin a strong and enduring partnership.”
'Ironclad commitment to NATO’s Article 5': White House
Meanwhile, the White House said in a statement that during her talks with Morawiecki, Harris "reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to NATO’s Article 5, welcomed our growing defense cooperation with Poland, and thanked the Prime Minister for Poland’s leadership in supporting Ukraine’s security and for its significant contributions to the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
The statement added: “The two leaders condemned Russia’s continued brutal aggression against Ukraine and discussed their shared determination to continue imposing costs on Russia for its violation of international rules and norms as well as on the Belarusian regime for its malign activities. The leaders discussed the importance of a shared commitment to democratic values, which underpins our close and growing cooperation in other areas.”
Moreover, Harris "expressed appreciation for Poland’s leadership in reducing European dependence on Russian energy and congratulated Poland on its selection of a U.S. technology partner for development of its civil nuclear power program, which will strengthen our bilateral ties and European energy security, help address the climate crisis, and create thousands of jobs in each of our countries,” the White House said.
Morawiecki and Harris “also discussed the importance of close transatlantic alignment on the challenges posed by China,” according to US officials.
Wednesday is day 413 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, rp.pl, whitehouse.gov