London calling

I’m just back from a visit to the UK to promote the opportunities that Poland offers for British business and to discuss how to strengthen further the links between us after the successful Polish Presidency. London’s streets are hard on the feet. But everywhere I went, I found a lot of enthusiasm for more engagement with Poland.

On the business front, many big British names including Tesco, RSA and Rolls Royce are already very active in Poland and are keen to exploit new opportunities and bring new products and services to market. We in the Embassy will continue to work closely with them providing advice and support, including by working with central and local government to resolve specific problems and improve the business environment. A good dialogue exists already with key Ministries.

We are also going to encourage more of our Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to consider exporting to Poland. Not only is there a market of 38 million consumers enjoying consistent economic growth but also Poland is a great place from which to sell to the wider region. Companies who export are also more innovative and prosperous than those that don’t.

We are equally keen to develop our strong political relationship with Poland, not least inside the EU where we share similar views on so many important areas including the need to focus on increasing economic growth, helping to promote stability in the EU’s Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods, security and EU enlargement. We also agree on the crucial importance of resolving the Eurozone crisis as soon as possible. Both sides are committed to increasing our engagement. This will keep the Embassy very busy in the coming months.