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 Australia |  Poland |
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Diplomatic relations exist between Australia and Poland. Over 170,000 Australian citizens are of Polish descent. [1] Both nations are members of the Australia Group and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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Australia | Poland |
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Diplomatic relations exist between Australia and Poland. Over 170,000 Australian citizens are of Polish descent. [1] Both nations are members of the Australia Group and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The first Polish citizens to arrive to Australia was in December 1696. [2] The 10 Polish citizens sailed with Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh during his exploration of Western Australia. The first known Pole to settle in Australia was Joseph Potaski who arrived to Hobart, Tasmania as a convict, along with his family, in 1803. For the next 40 years, dozens of Polish migrants arrived and settled in Australia. [3]
In the early 1900s, diplomatic relations between Australia and Poland were conducted via-London when Australia was part of the British Empire. Following World War I, Poland regained independence in 1918 and then established a consulate in Sydney in 1919 and a consulate in Melbourne in 1931. Both consulates, however, were closed immediately after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. [2] Australia declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, the third day of the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II. [4] Australian and Polish troops fought together in the Italian Campaign, especially during the Battle of Monte Cassino. Australian prisoners of war were among Allied POWs held in German POW camps operated in occupied Poland. Australian soldier Walter Edward Smith, who escaped from the Stalag XX-A camp and then joined the Polish resistance and fought in the Warsaw Uprising, is the first foreigner to be awarded the Warsaw Uprising Cross. [5] After the war, Poland re-emerged, although with different borders than it had prior to the war and with a Soviet-installed communist regime.
From 1947 to 1966, over 61,000 Polish migrants immigrated to Australia. Many of the Polish migrants were veterans, displaced persons, survivors of labour and concentration camps, prisoner-of-war camps or immigration detention camps. [2] In February 1972, Australia and Poland officially established diplomatic relations. That same year, Poland opened an embassy in Canberra. Australia opened an embassy in Warsaw in September 1973. [2]
Throughout the 1980s, Poland experienced the Solidarity ("Solidarność") movement which eventually contributed to the fall of communism in the country. During that time period, over 25,000 “Solidarity” migrants immigrated to Australia. [2]
The highest visit occurred in September 2000 when Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski paid a visit to Australia and attended the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics being held in Sydney. [6] In May 2013, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski paid an official visit to Australia. The visit was soon reciprocated by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in March 2014, at which time both nations signed a Working holiday visa agreement. [1] In 2013, both nations celebrated 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. [2]
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1972, both nations have signed numerous agreements such as an Investment and Promotion and Protection Agreement (1991); Double Taxation Agreement (1991); Extradition Treaty (1999); Air Services Agreement (2005); a Joint Communiqué on Cooperation in Environmental Technologies, Goods and Services (2006); and a Social Security Agreement (2010). [1]
In 2012, Australia donated A$500,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation to preserve the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. [7] In August 2021, Poland resold slightly over one million Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to Australia on a non-profit basis. [8] Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison personally thanked his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki for the deal, saying Morawiecki had been motivated by the ongoing outbreak in Sydney. [9]
In 2018, trade between Australia and Poland totaled US$1.1 billion. [10] Australia's main exports to Poland include coal, copper ores and concentrates, zinc ores and concentrates and medicaments. Poland's main exports to Australia include silver and platinum, mechanical handling equipment and parts, goods vehicles and passenger motor vehicles. [1]
British–Polish relations are the bilateral relations between the countries of United Kingdom and Poland. Exchanges between the two countries date back to medieval times, when Britain and Poland, then one of Europe's largest countries, were linked by trade and diplomacy. As a result of the 18th-century Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by its neighbours, the number of Polish immigrants to Britain increased in the aftermath of two 19th-century uprisings which forced much of Poland's social and political elite into exile. A number of Polish exiles fought in the Crimean War on the British side.
Canada–Poland relations are foreign relations between Canada and Poland. Both countries are full members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, NATO and the World Trade Organization.
Ireland is home to a Polish community totaling approximately 150,000 people. The Polish language is the most spoken foreign language in Ireland. Both nations are members of the Council of Europe, European Union, OECD and OSCE.
Australia and Italy established diplomatic relations in 1959. Francesca Tardioli was appointed Italian ambassador to Australia in September 2019, the first woman to represent Italy in Australia until her death in February 2022. The headquarters of the Italian embassy, designed by the Italian-Australian architect Enrico Taglietti, is located in the Canberra district of Deakin. Margaret Twomey was appointed Australian ambassador in Rome in July 2020.
Israel–Poland relations comprise diplomatic relations between Israel and Poland. Israel has an embassy in Warsaw, while Poland has an embassy in Tel Aviv. The Polish ambassador to Israel is Marek Magierowski, while the newly appointed Israeli ambassador to Poland is Yacov Livne, and the charge d'affaires is Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon. Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Union for the Mediterranean and United Nations.
Poland–Uruguay relations are foreign relations between Poland and Uruguay. Neither country has a resident ambassador. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Poland–Spain relations are cultural and political relations between Poland and Spain. Both nations are members of NATO, the European Union, OECD, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. Spain has given full support to Poland's membership in the European Union and NATO.
Iceland–Poland relations are the diplomatic relations between Iceland and Poland. Both nations are members of the European Economic Area, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Council of Europe and the United Nations.
New Zealand–Poland relations are the bilateral relations between New Zealand and Poland. Both nations are members of the Australia Group, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Poland were first established in 1920. Over 800,000 Brazilians are of Polish descent making Brazil the second country with the largest Polish community abroad. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Iran–Poland relations are historical and bilateral relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Poland. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Peru–Poland relations refers to the historical and bilateral relationship between Peru and Poland. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Nigeria–Poland relations are the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Poland. Both nations are members of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
Chile and Poland maintain diplomatic relations. Both nations are members of the OECD.
Poland–South Africa relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of South Africa. Both nations are members of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
Algeria and Poland are members of the Union for the Mediterranean and the United Nations. Both nations established diplomatic relations in 1962.
Cuba–Poland relations are the diplomatic relations between Cuba and Poland. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Kenya–Poland relations are the diplomatic relations between Kenya and Poland. Both nations are members of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
Norway–Poland relations are the diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Poland. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on mutual historical relations and the fact that more than 100,000 Polish citizens live in Norway on a permanent basis, Poles make up 2.10% of the Norwegian population. Both nations are members of the Council of Europe, Council of the Baltic Sea States, NATO, OECD, OSCE, United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
Poland–Portugal relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Poland and the Portuguese Republic. Both nations are members of the Council of Europe, European Union, NATO and the United Nations.
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