Poland Seeks Joint Ventures With Kingdom

With the balance of trade tilted heavily in favor of Poland, Saudi Arabia has decided to activate the Saudi-Polish Business Council and take other export promotion measures once the council is up and running. This was one of the action programs formulated at a meeting that Poland’s former President Lech Walesa had yesterday with senior officials of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Besides Walesa, Poland’s Ambassador Adam Kulach, embassy officials and representatives of the Polish media were also present. The Saudi side was represented by Dr. Fahad Al-Sultan, secretary general of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Hussein Al-Athel, secretary general of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Khaled M. Al-Otaibi, assistant secretary general for foreign affairs, and some Saudi businessmen. Speaking on the occasion, the former Polish president described it as a ground-breaking meeting that could pave the way for a greater momentum in Saudi-Polish relations. He said the potential for expanding their bilateral ties was huge, since Poland had come a long way during the last 15 years since the break-up of the Soviet Union and its emergence as a free-wheeling economy within the European Union, of which it is a member. Any investment in Poland, therefore, yields the benefit of a 200 million-strong market.