Polish President Andrzej Duda began a state visit to West Africa on Tuesday 6 September. Over the course of three days, he will visit three countries: Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Senegal.

In Abuja, President Duda will meet with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and take part in the ‘New Avenues of Polish-Nigerian Cooperation’ event with Nigerian business representatives, graduates of Polish universities. On Wednesday, Andrzej Duda will meet with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. On Thursday, the President and his wife will pay an official visit to Senegal. In Dakar, the Polish leader will meet with President Macky Salle and representatives of the Senegalese and Polish energy sectors.

‘This is a very important visit in the context of what is happening on the food markets, what Russia is doing in Ukraine, destroying food resources and limiting the supply to the countries most in need,’ said Jakub Kumoch, head of the Presidential Office for International Policy, during a meeting with journalists.

He announced that President Duda intends to listen very carefully to the voice of Africa before addressing the United Nations General Assembly. ‘We will talk about how to counter Russian food blackmail, as well as clearly communicating how our region of Europe, which has never been a coloniser, perceives Russian imperialism, acting in the worst traditions of conquering and colonising other people’s lands,’ Kumoch said.

According to the presidential minister, the talks will also focus on economic cooperation, including on raw material issues. The Polish President will be accompanied on the visit by representatives of Orlen and the Polish Oil and Gas Company.

‘Nigeria is one of the largest suppliers of raw materials, and Senegal is another opening market to which we have been invited to help and cooperate in the development of Senegalese deposits’, he stressed.

Adrian Andrzejewski