WARSAW, 25 June 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will arrive in Poland today on a landmark visit. It is the first by a Saudi king to the East European country. King Abdullah is expected to receive an unprecedented welcome from Polish officials and people and also the Order of the White Eagle, the country’s highest award.
Saudi Ambassador to Warsaw Nasser ibn Ahmed Al-Bireik described the royal visit as “extremely significant” as it will play a big role in strengthening Saudi-Polish, as well as Arab-Polish, relations. It will also witness the signing of six agreements to promote cooperation in economic, scientific, educational and technological areas as well as in health, sports and youth affairs and fighting crimes. “An announcement by the king to establish an Arabic and Islamic studies center at Warsaw University, one of the oldest in Europe, will also be made during the visit,” the ambassador said. “The Polish people will take the royal visit as an opportunity to thank the king for financing the separation of the conjoined Polish twins at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh in 2005,” Al-Bireik said.
He said diplomatic relations had been established before King Abdul Aziz’s unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “Poland was the eighth country to recognize King Abdul Aziz in 1929 as the ruler of Hejaz, Najd and adjacent areas.”
Saudi-Polish relations were broken off soon after World War II. Relations were resumed on May 3, 1995. Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski visited the Kingdom in 2004 a month after Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal had visited Warsaw.
“King Abdullah will be honored with the highest Polish decoration during the visit,” the Polish Ambassador in the Kingdom Adam Kulach told Arab News. The award will be presented by President Lech Kaczynski soon after the welcome ceremony at the presidential palace, in appreciation of the king’s contribution toward strengthening Saudi-Polish relations, he said. “King Abdullah is a great friend of Poland and his visit has been long expected,” Kulach said. During his two-day visit, King Abdullah is expected to hold wide-ranging talks with Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski on matters of social, cultural, political and regional interests.
The third session of the Saudi-Polish Joint Business Council will also be held during the visit. The Saudi team is headed by Fahd Al-Sultan, secretary-general of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Bilateral trade stood at $291.9 million last year with Saudi exports to Poland amounting to $146.6 million while its imports from Poland amounted to $145.3 million.
Tomorrow, King Abdullah is scheduled to meet the separated twins, Daria and Olga, along with their mother Wieslawa Dabrowska. The twins were separated in January 2005 at the expense of King Abdullah, then crown prince. For his assistance, the king won a special award from the Polish newspaper, Gazetta Wyborcza. Prior to the official farewell ceremony at the Belweder Palace, the king is also scheduled to hold talks with the minister of higher education and the president of the Warsaw University. He will also witness the Horse Show at Lazienki Palace and Park. Equestrian sports and horse breeding have a long tradition in Poland.
— Additional input from Mohammed Rasooldeen
