Closer Polish-American Ties

A fascinating conference took place in the de facto capital of Central Europe last week. The Kosciuszko Foundation, together with ING Poland, hosted a conference entitled “New Business Frontiers – Leveraging the Transatlantic Partnership in the New Global Economy.”

Some tremendous speakers discussed Polish-American relations, the European and American workforces, and the future of transatlantic business. In attendance and reporting for Penteris was Head of Communication and Development, Raf Uzar…

Shared Values

The conference kicked off with a brief history of Polish-US relations and the great work of the Kosciuszko Foundation by its President, Marek Skulimowski.

This was followed by a rousing talk from former Polish Prime Minister and President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. He recalled his discussions with US President Bill Clinton concerning Poland’s entry into NATO and how even the most difficult and delicate issues were handled with ease.

The deep-seated values that the two leaders and the two countries shared made these highly sensitive discussions incredibly smooth. Prime Minister Buzek highlighted how all American-Polish cooperation has been marked by a friendly ease based on shared values and goals.

During his time at the European Parliament, he had discussed a variety of issues with powerful US leaders like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. PM Buzek found that in negotiations between the EU and US, the arguments that truly held water were always geopolitical in nature.

Looking to the future, Jerzy Buzek asserted that further and tighter relations rest, above all, on our mutual ability to understand the entrepreneurial culture of our two continents and the three key values that will shape the future of our world: security, resilience, and competition.

Increased Flow

Next up, U.S. Embassy Warsaw Commercial Counselor Jim Lindley talked about the huge amount of investment flowing into Poland from the US and that future relations look bright.

There is a great flow between the US and Poland thanks to the sharing of technological skills, scientific know-how, and military intel across the Atlantic.

The recent investment by Intel in Poland is a good example of this cooperation and is the largest investment in Poland in the history of the two countries. This is all happening against the backdrop of 1,500 US companies already doing business in Poland.

Moreover, in terms of military cooperation, there are 10,000 US troops on Polish soil, and when Poland’s military deals with the US are completed, Poland will have the largest fleet of both Abrams tanks and Apache helicopters in the world after the US.

Growth Opportunity

Executive VP of ING Poland, Michal Hubert Mrożek, then shared some scintillating facts about the state of the Polish and European labour force, the positive state of the Polish workforce, and the need for more innovation.

One standout statistic that he presented was that Polish people work twice as long as Germans and are much cheaper, which means that Poland’s workforce is one of the chief motors of Poland’s booming economy.

He also added that current Polish exports to Germany amount to approximately 30%, whereas Poland’s exports to the US are tenfold lower at 3%, highlighting a great opportunity for growth.

Bright Future

Equally fascinating were the words of the CFO of Asseco, Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek, who talked about the need to focus less on costs and much more on competence when considering the future of Poland’s workforce in an American context.

Andrzej Szumowski, head of the National Chamber of Commerce, made some pertinent comments about the need to create an all-encompassing ‘Poland brand’ that would make it much easier to ‘sell’ Polish products and services abroad, particularly in the US.

All in all, the event highlighted the wonderful relations between Poland and the USA and the many opportunities that lie ahead for both countries in the near future.