Space permitting, one could dwell on some interesting historical connections between Ireland and Poland: the fact that in the 1690s an Irish physician, Bernard O'Connor, wrote the first history of Poland in the English language; the influence of the Polish national hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, on the ideology of 18th and 19th century Irish nationalists; the fact that Daniel O'Connell refused an autograph for the Tsar of Russia because of imperial Russia's treatment of Poland; the fact that in the first half of the 19th century the works of Thomas Moore strongly influenced some of Poland's great Romantic nationalist poets; the fact that Constance Markiewicz is commemorated in Poland, where a large primary school in Warsaw is named after her; and the fact that Poland was one of the first countries to establish a diplomatic mission in independent Ireland, sending a Consul General to Dublin in 1929.
These threads of connection are but part of a larger picture in which quite striking similarities in the political and cultural histories of Ireland and Poland are apparent. These affinities may help to explain why there appears to be such real empathy between Irish and Poles.
My colleagues and I in the Irish Embassy find gratifying the strong and sympathetic interest in Ireland, and the goodwill towards the Northern Ireland peace process, which is widely evident in Poland and which is reflected in the Polish media. We are frequently made aware of the high degree of Polish interest in Ireland's successful experience as a member of the EU.
Visits at Head of State and at Government level between our two countries are becoming a matter of course, as part of the broadening and deepening in recent years of the warm relations between Ireland and Poland. Ministerial visits in either direction during the past year have involved co-operation and exchanges in such areas as foreign policy, agriculture, management of privatisation processes, and the fight against crime.
The visit to Ireland on November 16th and 17th by Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek will be a further significant step in creating wider awareness of what Poland and Ireland have to offer each other.
Since the collapse of Communism, successive Polish governments have achieved much success in putting in place a strongly performing market economy. The size of Poland's population, at over 38 million, and Poland's growing economic strength, should encourage an increasing number of Irish exporters to explore possibilities in the Polish market. The Enterprise Ireland office in Warsaw is ready to assist potential new entrants to the market.
WHILE remaining modest, Irish exports to Poland during the first eight months of this year, at over £117 million, grew by over 41 per cent on the corresponding period of 1997. Over a dozen Irish enterprises now have resident representation in Poland.
Initial direct investment in Poland by Irish enterprises is now over £220 million, covering such areas as cement production, banking, food processing, household products distribution, publishing, printing and packaging, to name but some.
With negotiations now under way on the terms of Poland's accession to the EU, one can look forward to further steady growth in business, tourism, cultural and human contacts between our two countries. I believe that getting to know each other better will prove mutually fascinating as we prepare for future partnership in the European Union.
