“As the Russian Federation resolved to withdraw from the Council of the Baltic Sea States, while Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO, the Baltic Sea region has found itself in a new political setting. All the member states of the Council have welcomed the applications submitted by Helsinki and Stockholm. The accession of the two countries will reinforce the region’s security. In the wake of its 30th anniversary earlier this year, the Council of the Baltic Sea States is thus faced with a task of adapting itself to the new reality and redefining its priorities. It goes without saying that the Council has contributed to the growth and integration of the region, and to the sharing of knowledge and best practices.

On 24 May 2022, at the invitation of the German side, Minister Zbigniew Rau paid a working visit to Berlin to hold political consultations with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Annalena Baerbock.

On 24 May 2022, the Polish-Romanian consultations on security and defence in the so-called Small Quadriga format took place.

The main topic of the Second Preparatory Meeting of the 30th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum was promoting security and stability through sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Held on 23-24 May 2022 in Łódź, the event was inaugurated by Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid.

On 24 May, Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau will pay a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany at the invitation of the German side. The visit will involve political consultations in Berlin between Poland’s chief diplomat and Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Head of Foreign Service, Arkady Rzegocki, was with the delegation to the United States. The purpose of the visit was to talk with management of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on increasing employment of Polish professionals in these institutions. During his visit, Head of the Foreign Service also met with the Director of the Institute of Foreign Service of the Department of State, as well as held meetings with Polish students and graduates of American universities, interested in diplomacy.

On 23 May, Undersecretary of State at the MFA Paweł Jabłoński took part in an inauguration of the Three Seas House in Davos, opened for the first time in the history of the World Economic Forum.

On 23-24 May 2022, Łódź will host the Second Preparatory Meeting of the 30th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum. The main topic of the forum will be “Promoting security and stability in the OSCE area through sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”. The opening session of the event will be attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid.

On 19-20 May 2022, Deputy Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk visited Dublin to meet with Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne as well as with Ukrainian Ambassador Larysa Gerasko and a group of TDs and senators of the Irish Parliament (the Oireachtas). The deputy chief of Polish diplomacy also met with representatives of the Polish community organisations in Dublin.

On 18 May 2022, a delegation of Polish officials commemorated Polish soldiers killed in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Culture and National Heritage Piotr Gliński, the delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Małgorzata Gosiewska, and Deputy Minister of Education and Science Tomasz Rzymkowski.