The main point of the visit was the meeting of the Head of the Foreign Service, Arkady Rzegocki, with Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, in order to conduct talks on the organization and functioning of the Portuguese foreign service, as well as to discuss potential areas of cooperation in the exchange of diplomatic personnel. During the meeting, the Head of the Foreign Service expressed his gratitude for Portugal's support in helping Ukrainians and expressed his hope for further diplomatic support for Ukraine, which is fighting against Russian aggression.

The Head of the Foreign Service also met with Ambassador José de Freitas Ferraz, Director of the Diplomatic Institute, to discuss the activities undertaken by the Institute in the field professional diplomatic training and possibilities for cooperation with Polish Diplomatic Academy. José de Freitas Ferraz expressed his gratitude to the Head of the Foreign Service for initiating the signing of a joint statement of diplomatic academies on the Russian Aggression against Ukraine.

During his visit to Lisbon, the Head of the Foreign Service also met Maja Markovčić Kostelac, director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), as well as with Alexis Goosdeel, director of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), to discuss the possibilities of increasing the employment of Poles in EMSA and EMCDDA, as well as fields of cooperation in the area of ​​training and promotion of internship programs.

During his visit to Lisbon, the Head of the Foreign Service, Arkady Rzegocki, also met the Director of the Camões Institute João Ribeiro de Almeida, during which the Cooperation Program between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Republic of Poland in the field of language, education, higher education, culture, sport, youth and media for 2022-2025 was signed.

The Head of the Foreign Service laid wreaths on the graves of Polish diplomats: Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, count Jan Szembek, one of the closest associates of Minister Józef Beck and Karol Dubicz-Penther, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in the Polish Legation in Lisbon in 1937-1943.

The culmination of the visit of the Head of the Foreign Service to Portugal was a concert on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and Portugal: on May 13, 1922, the Polish envoy, the first nominee after World War I, ambassador Ksawery Orłowski presented his credentials to the President of Portugal António José de Almeids. The recital "Anna Maria Jopek & Amigos" organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Lisbon gathered numerous representatives of the host country, the diplomatic corps and the Polish community. The event was also attended by Francisco André, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation at the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Łukasz Jasina
MFA press spokesperson

 

Photo: Agata Supińska, Carlos Porfílio