At the opening, Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk emphasized that the government attaches great importance to cooperating with the Polish community and Poles abroad when it comes to supporting returns and encouraging our compatriots to cooperate with Poland. “We should remember the importance of the repatriation process. Encouraging returns is an important plank of policy addressing the Polish community abroad,” said Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk. He went on to say that facilitating returns to Poland from Western countries where Poles emigrated to work and earn money, and from Eastern countries, as part of repatriation, is the top priority of Polish authorities and our national duty. The deputy minister also recalled that the repatriation process involves a number of institutions. He mentioned cooperation with the Warsaw Stock Exchange which ran the “Go for Poland” action with the MFA to promote jobs for people who come back to Poland. Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk also talked about the “Polska jest w Tobie” (Poland is in You) initiative carried out with a very active participation of LOT Polish Airlines. He also recalled the signing of an agreement with the Welcome Airport Services company, thanks to which repatriates coming back to Poland can receive special care on arrival.

“Over the recent years we have tripled the number of people who benefit from the repatriation procedure,” stressed Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk. He also thanked adaptation centres for supporting repatriates at the beginning of their stay in Poland.

The Christmas meeting, organized by the MFA, brought together partners and friends of Polish diplomacy who are involved in cooperation with the Polish community abroad. It was an opportunity to extend Christmas and New Year’s wishes to Poles and Polish communities all around the world and to thank them for their work to preserve Polish traditions and pass them on to future generations.

The event brought together more than 150 guests, among them representatives of top state authorities and NGOs which cooperate with the Foreign Ministry in matters relating to the Polish diaspora. Special guests were volunteers of the action “Mogiłę Pradziada Ocal od Zapomnienia” (Save the forefathers’ grave from oblivion) which has been run for over ten years in Ukraine, Siberia, and Kazakhstan, on the initiative of journalist Grażyna Orłowska-Sondej. The guests sang carols together with the “Dolina Seretu” (the Siret Valley) folk ensemble of Čadca Highlanders from Terebleche in the Bukovina region.                                                                                           

Supporting the Polish community abroad is Poland’s raison d’etat and a task shared by politicians, civil servants, local governments and Polish businesses. An example of such support is the decision of the Sroda Wielkopolska municipality to take in a large group of repatriates and facilitate their integration in the adaptation centre and outside it. Thanks to the commitment of many state institutions – the Sejm, Senate, President’s Chancellery, Prime Minister’s Office and Polish ministries, as well as foundations and associations operating in Poland, it is possible to give a new quality and impetus to our policy towards the Polish diaspora abroad.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA

Video: Gabriel Piętka / MFA