Security of NATO’s eastern flank in the context of hybrid threats, economic cooperation and infrastructure development were the main topics of talks between Polish President Andrzej Duda and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, who is visiting Poland.

President Duda said that the most important topic of the talks was the issue of security in the context of migration pressure from Russia.

Today, ‘Finland is facing a similar phenomenon that we have been dealing with since 2021, which is a hybrid attack on the Finnish border, which is implemented by pushing groups of migrants to the border’, said the Polish leader.

Andrzej Duda assured President Niinistö of his readiness to support.

‘Finland can absolutely rely on political Polish support, but also on sharing experience from our side. Because we have more than two years of experience in defending our border against migration pressure, above all this pressure, which we know very well is implemented by the Belarusian authorities’, he stressed.

Andrzej Duda noted that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, Polish-Finnish cooperation has been developing very well in recent years, with growing economic exchanges of over €5 billion.

‘We discussed the development of infrastructure: transport, roads and railways, as well as the future development of nuclear energy within the framework of European climate protection policy’, he pointed out.

During his visit to Poland, the Finnish President also met with the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Holownia. During the conversation, the issues of bilateral relations, parliamentary cooperation and security in the Baltic Sea region in the context of the problem of illegal migration were mainly addressed.

‘Mutual relations between our countries are excellent. In normal times, we would talk about the economy, trade and other positive dimensions of cooperation. Unfortunately, we are currently in a difficult time related to migratory pressure on our countries’ borders’, said Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

Adrian Andrzejewski