Polish president starts US visit

President Duda is on Thursday due to make a major speech during the United Nations Security Council debate on the role of international law in maintaining peace and security, according to a senior aide to the Polish leader.

"This will be a very interesting speech and I think it will include numerous issues important for Poles," Duda’s chief of staff, Krzysztof Szczerski, said, as quoted on the president.pl website.

Representatives from around 60 countries are expected to take part in the debate in New York, according to Szczerski.

Poland on January 1 became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for a two-year term that ends on December 31, 2019.

The country on May 1 assumed the month-long rotating presidency of the 15-member Council.

While in New York, President Duda was on Wednesday expected make a brief trip across the Hudson River to Jersey City to lay flowers at a monument honouring Poles massacred by the Soviets in World War II, according to Szczerski.

The Jersey City monument to the 1940 massacre of thousands of Polish prisoners of war in the Katyn Forest, western Russia, became the centre of a trans-Atlantic row after Jersey City's mayor recently went public with plans to remove the statue in order to redevelop a public square that has been the monument's home for 27 years.

During his US trip, Duda, accompanied by First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, is also expected to visit Chicago, Illinois, to meet with the area's strong Polish community.

The Polish leader's itinerary includes meetings with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, according to Szczerski.

The Polish president will take “every opportunity” to discuss issues such as security, peace and stability in Europe during his four-day stay in America, Szczerski said.

(gs/pk)

Source: president.pl