Poland in South Africa

The aim of the event was to commemorate the establishment and summary of three decades of diplomatic relations between Poland and South Africa as well as cooperation in the political, economic, scientific and developmental contexts. The conference was also a forum for exchanging experiences and working out common positions on important issues, such as further strengthening of cooperation between Poland and South Africa and the challenges currently facing our countries and the whole world. The conference was organized in a hybrid form. The recipients of the event were representatives of local authorities, government organizations, opinion-forming circles, academia, students and the media.

The conference was moderated by the Head of the Political and Economic Department, Jarosław Spyra. The participants were greeted by the Director General of SAIIA, Elizabeth Sidiropoulos. The introductory word was delivered by Ambassador Andrzej Kanthak. He mentioned that South Africa is one of Poland's most important political and economic partners in Africa. In terms of the level of trade, South Africa is Poland's largest partner on the African continent. Compared to African partners, South Africa is also distinguished by the scale of investments in our country. He emphasized that so far the scale of Polish investments in South Africa is still small and we see a great field for cooperation in this area. Then, Phumzile Mazibuko, Director General of the Department of Central Europe in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa took the floor. The director recalled the story of the heroic military mission of South African airmen who helped besieged Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising, as well as a group of Polish refugees, orphaned children who found refuge in South Africa during World War II. Director Mazibuko also thanked for the support provided by Poland during the struggle for national liberation and for condemning apartheid. Director Mazibuko referred to the fruitful cooperation between our countries, high-level state visits and political consultations. Dr Jędrzej Czerep from PISM gave a lecture on "Poland and South Africa - parallel histories - common future". He spoke about the similarities in the Polish and South African past, and the campaigns organized in Poland against apartheid. He also spoke about the future of Poland-South Africa relations. The next speaker, SAIIA Director General Elizabeth Sidiropoulos delivered a lecture on "Partnership in Troubled Times: Bilateral Relations as a Basis for Meeting Global Challenges". After the conference, a lively discussion ensued between the participants. The event aroused great interest.

Photos: Grażyna Koornhof / Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria