Polish envoy lauds 'growing,' 'multifaceted' cooperation with Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Cooperation between Taiwan and Poland has grown in various directions in recent years, ranging from economics and technology to culture, Polish representative to Taiwan Cyryl Kozaczewski has said.

Relations between Taiwan and Poland are "growing" in a "multifaceted" manner, Kozaczewski, director of the Polish Office in Taipei, said in his first interview with Taiwanese media on Dec. 15 after taking office in December 2021.

On the economic front, the representative said that he had seen growing interest on the part of Taiwanese partners to invest in Poland and expects to announce new projects early next year.

According to Kozaczewski, currently around 30 Taiwanese companies operate in Poland, and some are seeking to expand their businesses in the Central European nation.

Poland is hoping to attract Taiwanese enterprises specializing in semiconductors, machinery and other advanced technologies, he said, noting that the country, as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), provides a secure investment environment.

Western Poland, bordering the eastern German state of Saxony where the world's largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) plans to build a new chip fab, could also be a potential destination for related suppliers, he added.

He went on to say that Poland, a member of the European Union with stable economic growth, is prepared to provide incentives, such as EU recovery and cohesion funds, to support foreign investors looking to establish a presence in the country and expand into Central Europe.

According to Taiwan government figures in June, Taiwanese businesses have invested more than US$25.8 million in Poland since the two sides signed an agreement in 2018 to promote two-way investment, representing an increase of 122.8 percent.

Kozaczewski said that his office, which represents Warsaw's interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic relations, is also working to attract more Polish entrepreneurs to Taiwan for scientific and technological collaboration.

Notably, Taiwan and Poland have since 2022 inked two memoranda of understanding (MOU) to facilitate collaborations on research and development into semiconductors and hydrogen power.

Through these agreements, the two sides have established working groups to "streamline" communication between each other's research institutes, Kozaczewski said, adding that he hopes such mechanisms can soon be expanded to include business sectors.

In the meantime, the director stressed that his office does "not concentrate solely on economic development" but also seeks to expand exchanges with Taiwan in a range of spheres, including culture and tourism.

He mentioned the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) in February, where Poland was the "guest of honor" and hosted more than a dozen events with Polish authors and illustrators, as a successful example of "introducing Poland to Taiwan."

Looking ahead, the Polish representative said he will work to strengthen cultural connections between the two sides through the sister-city agreement inked between Taipei and Warsaw, without providing more detail.

The director has also been actively working to establish direct flights between Taiwan and Poland, which he said would further promote "direct communication" between the two sides.

Such efforts will take "several years," Kozaczewski acknowledged, drawing on his past experience in pushing for direct flights between Tokyo and Warsaw in his previous capacity as Polish ambassador to Japan from 2012 to 2016.

He expressed hope that this goal will be realized in the next two years, contingent upon negotiations with Taiwanese authorities and airline companies.

Born in 1969, Kozaczewski served in the Polish Embassy in Seoul and the Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO prior to his ambassadorial role in Japan, where he also represented NATO as the official point of contact.