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.

On October 13-14 at the meeting organized by the US National Security Council on the Counter-Ransomware Initiative a wide circle of countries discussed how to fight more effectively the phenomenon of ransomware.

On 14 October, the Polish Institute in Moscow and the Moscow Memorial Society organised the screening of Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones (a 2019 film about the Soviet genocide against Ukraine, which won the Golden Lions at the Gdynia Film Festival).

“From the very beginning, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has remained one of the OSCE’s fundamental institutions, renowned for its support to the participating states,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk as he opened a conference to mark the Office’s 30th anniversary.

Today, Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Chesnovsky was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Due to the violent riots taking place now in the southeastern districts of Beirut, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is calling on everyone present there at the moment to exercise particular caution, stay at home, and avoid crowds, as well as to keep track of the official news from the Lebanese authorities and follow the websites of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Beirut and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Today, the UNESCO’s Executive Board voted in favour of a decision to continue the Organisation’s involvement in activities related to monitoring the situation in Crimea. The positive outcome of the voting is the result of intensive and effective efforts taken by the Friends of Ukraine Group currently coordinated by Poland.

In the light of the deteriorating epidemiological situation in Romania and the growing demand for medical equipment in the country, Poland has donated 50 oxygen concentrators with a capacity of five litres.