This year’s celebrations of World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) under the motto #Connect focus on the digital inclusion of people with Down syndrome. They take place with a Polish representative in attendance, Ms Natalia Szymańska from the Otwarte Drzwi Association.

The Development Cooperation Policy Council has unanimously adopted the Development Cooperation Plan for 2021. The meeting was chaired by the National Coordinator for Development Cooperation, Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński.

The foreign minister’s meetings with ambassadors of EU member states are customarily held during each six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union by the embassy of a country presiding over the Council. Because of the pandemic, this year’s meeting organised by the ambassador of Portugal was held as a teleconference.

Enhanced cooperation with third countries as a necessary element to increase the effectiveness of the EU migration policy was the focus of today’s discussion of EU foreign and home affairs ministers, which was devoted to migration issues. Poland was represented by Deputy Ministers Paweł Jabłoński (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Bartosz Grodecki (the Ministry of the Interior and Administration).

- The cooperation agreement concluded today between the MFA and the Polish Economic Institute is another step towards strengthening the international potential of Polish economy and the presence of Polish companies on foreign markets - said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paweł Jabłoński during the signing ceremony. On behalf of the Polish Economic Institute the document was signed by its Director, Piotr Arak.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs received information about the detention of a Polish journalist in Myanmar, which was confirmed by the Polish consul in Bangkok in cooperation with the German consul in Myanmar (under EU law, Germany provides consular assistance to unrepresented Polish citizens in Myanmar).

“Poland does not, and will not, recognise the annexation of Crimea by Russia. Crimea is Ukraine,” said the MFA undersecretary of state at a video conference on Friday.

On 12 March 2021, originals of international agreements were displayed at the MFA seat located at 2 Krywulta Street. The documents included the original of the Treaty of Riga of 18 March 1921 which ended the Polish-Bolshevik war. Also presented to the public were the original of the alliance treaty between the Second Polish Republic and Romania (signed on 3 March 1921) and ratification documents (featuring Marshal Józef Piłsudski’s signature) of the Polish-French alliance (concluded on 19 February 1921).

On 10 March 2021, chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus Aliaksandr Chasnouski was handed a diplomatic note stating that a member of staff of the embassy had been declared persona non grata. The note also obliged the staff to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland by midnight, 12 March.