President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda will begin their two-day visit to the Italian Republic on Thursday. An audience and a conversation between the president and Pope Francis will concern the war in Ukraine.

The head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland (KPRP), Grażyna Ignaczak-Bandych has announced that on Friday the president will talk to the Holy Father “face to face”, and then the presidential couple will have an audience with the Pope. The next meeting of the President will be an interview with the Holy See’s Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin.

Grażyna Ignaczak-Bandych emphasized that the topics of the talks will primarily concern the situation related to the war in Ukraine and Polish aid.

“The president will want to present to the Pope the multifaceted involvement of Poland, Poles, the government and non-governmental organizations in helping Ukrainians. They will also talk about the challenges facing us in connection with this crisis”, said the presidential minister.

The head of the Chancellery also announced that on Friday in Rome, the president will meet the head of the International Agricultural Development Fund, Gilbert F. Houngbo. The conversation will focus on the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on the availability and prices of food in the markets.

First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda will implement a separate program. She will visit the Infant Jesus pediatric hospital in Rome, where children with oncological diseases, transported from Ukraine to Rome, are treated. It will be the First Lady’s second visit to this hospital. The first visit took place in 2018.

“Then Agata Kornhauser-Duda will meet the daughter of the President of Italy, Mrs Laura Mattarella. The meeting will focus on developing the coalition of women by the First Lady to help people fleeing the war, in particular sick children and people with disabilities,” emphasized the head of the KPRP.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński