In a further boost to Saudi-Polish relations, Prince Khaled bin Saud bin Khaled, assistant foreign minister, on Monday inaugurated the new headquarters of the Saudi Embassy in Warsaw.

Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna, Senate head Bogdan Borisovich and Saudi Ambassador to Poland Waleed Taher bin Radwan were present on the occasion.

According to an official from the Saudi Embassy in Poland, the prince unfurled the Saudi national flag to mark the opening of the spacious brand new complex.

Schetyna congratulated the Kingdom on the opening of the new mission and appreciated the age-old relationship between two countries.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on May 3, 1995, followed by the opening of the Polish Embassy in Riyadh in June 1998.

On Oct. 29, 2001, Osama bin Ahmad Al-Sanusi submitted his credentials as the first Saudi ambassador to Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

Relations between Poland and Saudi Arabia are two centuries old. In 1817, Polish nobleman Count Waclaw Rzewuski made his famous exploratory journey into the heartland of what is today Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In 1844, Count Jerzy Dzieduszycki visited Hail and bought eight horses from the Al-Rashid family. The journey is documented in his memoirs.

In 1929 Poland recognized King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud as the ruler of Hijaz, Najd and dependencies, becoming the ninth country in the world to begin official relations with the Kingdom. In 1930 King Abdulaziz received in Jeddah the official Polish delegation headed by Count Edward Raczynski, deputy head of the ME section in the Poland’s Foreign Ministry and Jakub Szynkiewicz, the then grand mufti of Poland.

A new chapter in Saudi-Polish bilateral relations was opened by the official visit of President Aleksander Kwasniewski to the Kingdom in March 2004.