Poland in Lebanon

Guests of the Polish Embassy were treated to a unique celebration of Poland’s National Day as the Villa Audi Mosaic Museum in Beirut was lit up in the Polish colours and soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent in UNIFIL provided a guard of honour and raised the Polish flag.

The event, which was co-hosted by the Military Attaché in Beirut, was well attended and left guests captivated by the military display.  During the official ceremony Ambassador Aleksandra Bukowska-McCabe, Commander of the Polish Military Contingent in UNIFIL Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sałagan, and Military Attache Lieutenant Colonel Mateusz Grzesiak, awarded  four Polish soldiers with military promotions, as is traditional on Polish national holidays. Attendees included the minister of social affairs, representing the president and the prime minister, the justice minister and the minister of tourism, as well as parliamentarians,  local dignitaries and embassy partners.

Embassy guests were also able to enjoy an exhibition of Polish poster art, illustrating opera and theatre premieres and festivals, and had the opportunity to sample some traditional Polish mead. One of the highlights of the evening was the lottery, where unique prizes that had been kindly donated by some of the event’s sponsors were up for grabs. These included two collectable items donated by Polish Securities Printing Works, a framed security paper with a watermark image of Copernicus and a framed note on a polymer substrate, and a voucher donated by LOT Polish Airlines to be used in exchange for a flight on the Beirut-Warsaw-Beirut route.

During the Ambassador’s speech the Head of Mission emphasised the developments taking place in Lebanon and the opportunity for change, drawing on Poland’s own experience in undergoing economic and political transformation since the fall of communism to its current position at the heart of the EU and NATO.