On 27 October 2021, Secretary of State Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk attended – in place of Minister Zbigniew Rau – a meeting of the Bucharest Nine (B9) top diplomats. Estonia, the host of this year’s meeting, also invited high-ranking representatives of the US Department of State and NATO Headquarters to take part in the event.

In response to Tunisia’s growing demand for medical and personal protective equipment necessary to fight against Covid-19, Poland provided it with corresponding humanitarian aid. The shipment comprised 78 ventilators, 50 cardiac monitors, and 500 pulse oximeters.

On 25-26 October 2021, MFA’s Secretary of State Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk visited Athens. At the beginning, he held political consultations with Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs of the Hellenic Republic Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. The officials discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on current migration-related challenges, EU’s eastern neighbourhood, enlargement policy and the future of Europe.

On 21-24 October, Head of the Foreign Service Arkady Rzegocki was in Rome on an official visit. The aim of the visit was to talk to heads of HR departments at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as well as to representatives of Italian and Vatican diplomacies about diplomat training programmes and related areas of potential cooperation.

In response to Iran’s needs, Poland handed over 1 million COVID-19 vaccines. This donation is a token of vaccine solidarity with Iranians, with whom Poland has enjoyed centuries of good relations.

An amendment to the Regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 13 March 2021 on temporary suspension or restriction of border traffic at certain border crossing points (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 435, as amended, hereinafter “MSWiA Regulation”) is coming into force on 16 October 2021.

Situation in the Persian Gulf, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua as well as preparations for the Eastern Partnership Summit were the major points of the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. Together with Lithuania and Latvia, Poland outlined the situation at the EU’s border with Belarus.

Today marks the 172nd anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s death. In a special video, Secretary of State Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk plays the Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64 no. 1 on the piano and talks about the links between the great Polish composer’s music and diplomacy, encouraging the viewers to watch and follow closely the final stage of the competition.

On Sunday, 17 October 2021, Professor John Rink, an authority on the works of Fryderyk Chopin, and a Chopin Piano Competition juror, received the Bene Merito honorary distinction during a ceremony at the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw. The ceremony was attended by Head of the Foreign Service Arkady Rzegocki, Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute Artur Szklener, as well as the jurors of the 18th Chopin Piano Competition and distinguished guests from the world of culture.