Poland in Qatar

After the game against France, the Polish national football team and the accompanying Polish Football Association activists left Doha. On December 5 Ambassador Janusz Janke bid farewell to the Polish team before their departure from the hotel to the airport. All those who support the Polish national team in Qatar are looking forward to another opportunity to personally see the players of our national team.

At the pivotal moment of the group stage games, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Doha, in cooperation with ORLEN and the Qatar-Polish Business Council, arranged a meeting integrating the most ardent football fans. The meeting was organized thanks to the financial support of ORLEN, the official sponsor of the Polish national team, whose representatives visited Doha. The gathering served as an opportunity to continue activities within the Poland Tastes Good programme. Both the Ambassador and the vice-president of ORLEN, the emphasized in their welcoming speeches the uniqueness of the moment before the decisive, last game of the group stage. The game was to determine if Poland would advance to the last 16 of the World Cup first time in 36 years. Mr Cezary Kulesza, president of the Polish Football Association, also appealed to the gathered for a strong support for the team. The Polish character of the meeting was emphasized by decorations in traditional folk patterns as well as delicacies of the Polish cuisine.

At the invitation of Mr. Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali, Qatari Minister of Sport and Youth, Mr. Kamil Bortniczuk, Minister of Sport and Tourism visited Qatar. The purpose of the visit on November 17-24 was to participate in the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup, support the Polish national team, learn about the organizational and infrastructural challenges of large sports events, as well as to promote Poland as a tourist destination and to inaugurate the activities of the Polish Embassy in Doha within the Poland Tastes Good programme implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. During his stay the Minister together with other VIP guests, participated, among others, in the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup and the opening game between Qatar and Ecuador as well as supported the Polish national team who played against Mexico. He correspondingly decorated Ms Magda Lux, a Polish community activist, with a medal for meritorious development of Polish and Qatari water sports and also inaugurated the embassy's promotional activities within the Poland Tastes Good programme. Minister Bortniczuk also met the adviser to Minister Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali to touch on issues of the continuation of the cooperation in the tourism sector and on future joint ventures. In addition to sport, the economic aspect was crucial to the visit, i.e. support for the Polish tourism sector (distribution of promotional materials received from the Polish Tourism Organization), support for the export of Polish agricultural produce and delicacies of the Polish cuisine within the Poland Tastes Good programme and for Polish innovative companies seeking internationalization opportunities. The FIFA World Cup is organized for the first time in an Arab country which serves as a unique opportunity to promote Poland and the Polish economy in this wealthy and investment-oriented region.

The 24/7 consular centre dedicated to supporting fans who will come to the upcoming World Cup in Qatar was inaugurated on 30th October. The opening was attended by the ambassadors and diplomats representing over 40 countries whose fans plan to come to Doha. Qatar's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs met with the representatives of the embassies. The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Doha was represented by ambassador Janusz Janke and consul Adam Sadownik. The International Consular Service Centre is located in the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), Hall 4.

Ambassadors and other diplomats representing countries whose teams qualified for this year's World Cup gathered at the residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Qatar - Janusz Janke, to share their organizational experiences so far. It was the second meeting of this kind organized by the Polish mission before the upcoming football tournament. Dr Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning, also attended the meeting which was held on 26th October.

Documentary and Feature Film Studios (WFDiF) has launched a Polish cinematography streaming platform called "35mm.online". In the digital space of the 35mm.online platform https://35mm.online/ we are presented with a collection of nearly 4,000 unique, digitized and reconstructed film materials including some classics of the Polish cinematography of the recent decades, documents and animations.

On the occasion of the National Education Day, Ambassador Janusz Janke and Consul Adam Sadownik met with the teachers and personnel of the Witold Pilecki Polish School in Qatar. We would like to thank all teachers and school staff for their determination and effort that they put into teaching Polish and promoting Polish culture.

Paweł Jabłoński, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted consultations with Dr. Ahmad Hassen Al Hammadi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. The talks concentrated on the issues of bilateral political and energy cooperation. The deputy ministers positively assessed Polish-Qatari relations, pointing to the high dynamics of the political dialogue, which is reflected in regular political consultations and meetings at the highest level. Mutual openness to close cooperation was confirmed, both in a bilateral format and in forums of international organizations. The Undersecretary of State Paweł Jabłoński presented Polish activities aimed at increasing the availability of Ukrainian grain to the world market and pointed to the global consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. He stressed that Poland considered the Russian invasion of Ukraine illegal. Deputy Minister Jabłoński presented the details of the prospects for strengthening Poland's sectoral cooperation with the State of Qatar in the field of defence, energy, digital economy, green technologies and tourism. The deputy ministers also discussed Middle East issues. Previous Polish-Qatari consultations at the deputy ministerial level took place in November 2021 in Doha.

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), the leading government financial and business organization in Qatar, hosted the annual Ambassadors Round Table entitled "Powering Foreign Investment Towards 2030." The event, held on 5th October, brought together leaders from the Qatar financial and investment sector. During the meeting, the Qatar-Poland Business Council was awarded as one of the most active business councils in Qatar. The Department of International Trade (DTI UK), the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC), and the American Chamber of Commerce also found their place in prestigious group of winners.