Poland's foreign minister, , tells Al-Ahram Weekly that his country is developing a growing interest in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East Lech Kaczynski, the president of Poland, plans to visit Egypt late next month. His foreign minister, , was in Cairo over the weekend for talks with his Egyptian counterpart, and with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. Sikorski's visit came as part of a three leg African tour that started on 27 September in Rwanda, passed by Kenya and ended in Egypt on 30 September. Last Wednesday, before returning to Warsaw, he told Al-Ahram Weekly that Poland is keen on developing its presence in, and strengthening its relation with, Egypt, as a part of a wider strategy to reach out to Africa and the Middle East. "We have 14 embassies in the Arab world," Sikorski said. He added that his country is keeping an eye on expanding this diplomatic presence in the Arab world as well as in Africa. Egypt, he suggested, has a key role to play in facilitating such diplomatic outreach. "Egypt is widely recognised as a leading Arab country," he said. Tourism and economic cooperation, and not just politics, are likely to be the cornerstone of expanded Polish- Egyptian cooperation in the near future, says Sikorski. According to the count of the foreign minister of Poland, Egypt received 60,000 Polish tourists this year, bucking a downward trend in tourism worldwide. During his meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit and Moussa last week, Sikorski solicited their advice on how to consolidate cooperation between Cairo and other Arab capitals, especially in the area of tourism. The talks in Cairo also addressed the role Poland might play on the political front. Poland has exceptionally close ties with Israel. "We feel a particular solidarity with the victims of genocide," Sikorski said. He added that his country still feels a certain responsibility towards Israel as it was once the venue of one of the most atrocious Nazi concentration camps. This said, Sikorski promptly added that his country also feels "solidarity" with the Palestinians and supports a "two-state solution" while maintaining high-profile humanitarian assistance operations in both Gaza and the West Bank. Not that Sikorski offered misleading assumptions about how much direct effort his country wants to put in the Middle East peace process. "Proliferating initiatives are not helpful," he said. Warsaw, he added firmly, will work to promote Middle East peace through the European Union. And when it is Poland's turn to take the rotating presidency of the European Union in 2011, Warsaw hopes that peace would have found its way to the region. Sikorski was optimistic about the active engagement of US President Barack Obama's administration in the Middle East "even in its first year". He expressed hope that the coordinated effort of the Obama administration and key regional players, Egypt especially, would help build trust between Palestinians and Israelis to allow for a peaceful settlement that "secures Israel the right to exist within internationally recognised borders", helps the Palestinians have an "independent state" and allows for the peace prescribed in the Arab Peace Initiative to reign in the region. Sikorski's Cairo talks also touched on the stand-off over Tehran's nuclear programme. Poland, its foreign minister said, is keen to see the dispute settled peacefully but expressed concern that the Iranian nuclear programme could lead to an "escalation in the region" that will be against the interests of states in the region and their European neighbours. Interview by Dina Ezzat
