Officially Received In Washington
- PostEagle
- March 15, 2015
- Uncategorized
- 0 Comments
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Foreign Policy and Polonia Matters Discussed. At the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Grzegorz Schetyna was officially received here on January 7-8, 2015. In addition to Sec. Kerry, he met with various top officials of foreign affairs for the U.S. Government. Topics of discussion included European and global security, the situations in Ukraine and Afghanistan, and threats from the so-called Islamic State. On Capitol Hill he was feted by the Bipartisan Senate Caucus on Poland, led by U.S. Senators/founders Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) and Jim Risch (R-Id.).
In photo: Ambassador Schnepf (l.) and F.M. Schetyna.
On the second day of his visit, F.M. Schetyna was the guest of honor at an Embassy of the Republic of Poland reception hosted by Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf. During the proceedings, Minister Schetyna personally decorated Dr. Timothy Snyder with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. Dr. Snyder, an author of seven scholarly books, and a professor at Yale University, was recognized as a specialist in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, and for his knowledge and promotion of Polish History.
The transfer of two historic and priceless 18th century Slonim Tapestries to the museum in Poland’s Wawel Castel was additionally presided over by the foreign minister.
In Photo: Multifaceted Polish Embassy Reception. U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-Oh.) is pictured speaking with Poland’s Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna at his Polish Embassy reception. He participated in decorating Dr. Timothy Snyder with honors, presided over the transfer of historic Slonim Tapestries to Poland, and met personally with members of Polonia.
As chief of Poland’s diplomacy, Minister Schetyna was very eager to also meet with a coterie of leaders and notables of the local Polish-American community, as arranged by Ambassador Schnepf. He was gregarious and very generous with his valuable time, speaking at length to individuals and small groups about their concerns, ideas, suggestions, etc. – all in the spirit and synergy of continued bilateral co-operation between Poland and America. In his address, Minister Schetyna expressed his admiration and solidarity with the Polish diaspora for their contributions fostering Polish-American relations and building a good image of Poland in the U.S., and he concluded by saying “I would also like to assure you that you have my support and that I’m always there for you.”
Richard P. Poremski
Polish American Journal
Washington, DC Bureau
February 3, 2015
