- In his capacity as Minister for Trade, Greg Hands MP visited Poland last week.
- Greg was the first UK Minister to meet the new Government in Warsaw, where he discussed the two countries’ common priorities, including the trade and investment relationship, and opportunities for UK businesses.
- The UK has a substantial trade and investment relationship with Poland, worth £30 billion per annum.
Greg Hands MP completed a very productive and jam-packed visit to Poland last week, in his capacity as Minister for Trade.
Whilst this was his fourth ministerial visit to the country, Greg has a long and personal history with Poland. He first visited Poland during Martial Law in the early 1980s and has made many subsequent trips over the following decades.
The focus of his most recent trade visit was to talk about the two countries’ common priorities, the UK-Polish trade and investment relationship, opportunities for UK companies and to discuss how the UK and Poland can further cooperate in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Putin’s brutal invasion.
Greg was delighted to be the first UK Minister to meet the new government in Warsaw. He had a warm and friendly meeting with Jacek Tomczak, Poland’s new Minister for Economic Development and Technology. Together they committed to regular meetings to boost the already substantial UK-Poland trade relationship and to make trade in goods and services even smoother.
First up on the visit was an excellent roundtable held in Warsaw with the British Polish Chamber of Commerce. Trade between the UK and Poland amounts to £30 billion per annum and £205 billion of investment, with key sectors including defence and security, infrastructure, financial services, healthcare, recruitment and technology can be recorded.
Greg met with Polish investors and UK companies from across different sectors – from fintech to shipbuilding – and spoke with them about their priorities and opportunities.
A highlight of the trip for Greg was visiting Castorama’s Warsaw store. He was pleased to see the excellent work of British retailer, Kingfisher plc. They employ over 13,000 people and have recently opened their 100th store, an example of a major UK investor thriving in Europe.
Greg also appeared on Polish TV in Warsaw, where he was interviewed for TVP Info. Among other topics, he spoke about how British entrepreneurs love to invest in Poland, with its young and tech-savvy workforce and how Poland sells lots of goods to the UK.
Commenting, Greg Hands said:
“Poland is a vital ally and friend, we share many common priorities and continue to strengthen our economic ties with our already substantial trade and investment relationship. Poland is also a vital partner in our shared support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia.
During this visit, it was fantastic to see UK companies and entrepreneurs from a wide variety of sectors, from fintech to shipbuilding, investing in Poland and seeking new opportunities.”
ENDS
