PHILIPPINE EMBASSY MEETS WITH POLISH MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO EXPLORE COOPERATION IN MARITIME ECONOMY AND EDUCATION

Philippine Ambassador Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz (right) meets with Mr. Marek Gróbarczyk (left), Deputy Minister of Infrastructure at the latter’s headquarters office in Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw, 17 January 2023 - The Philippine Embassy in Poland, led by H.E. Ambassador Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz, met with officials from Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure led by Mr. Marek Gróbarczyk, Secretary of State and Government Plenipotentiary for Water Management and Investments in the Maritime and Water Economy on Tuesday, 17 January 2023, at the Ministry’s office in Warsaw to explore bilateral cooperation in the fields of maritime economy and education.

During the meeting, Ambassador Basinang-Ruiz highlighted the strong maritime traditions and culture of the Philippines, being an archipelagic state and maritime nation. The Philippine Embassy expressed interest in strengthening cooperation with Poland in various maritime fields, as Poland has a vibrant maritime industry and plays a key role in the Baltic Sea region.

Both sides agreed that the two countries would benefit from the sharing of best practices and technical exchanges possibly in the areas of water management, port management, and maritime education and training. The Philippines is one of the largest sources of seafarers in the world, while Poland has at least two well-known public higher education institutions for maritime education and training in the port cities of Gdynia and Szczecin.

Philippine-Polish cooperation in the maritime industry was recently strengthened with the 30-year extension of the lease contract of Philippine-owned Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) to manage and operate the Port of Gdynia, one of Poland’s major ports along the Baltic coast. BCT is 100% owned by the Manila-headquartered International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). END.

L-R: Mr. Jerzy Uklański, Deputy Director, Department of International Cooperation; Mr. Paweł Krężel, Deputy Director, Maritime Economy Department; Mr. Marek Gróbarczyk, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Infrastructure; Philippine Ambassador Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz; Philippine Embassy First Secretary/Consul Alena Borra; Mr. Marek Romsicki, Chief Expert, Department of International Cooperation; and Philippine Embassy Cultural Officer Chloe Silverio.