„You are a very important partner to us,“ said Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Tuesday in Ottawa after signing a memorandum of intent with Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty.
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„Transatlantic relations are not just about Poland and the USA. The relationship between Poland and Canada is taking on a new form,“ he said.
The Canadian Ministry of Defense stated that both countries have a „shared commitment to promote cooperation between Canada and Poland in the field of defense and to strengthen the security and resilience of allies,“ including „seeking opportunities for closer cooperation between the Canadian and Polish defense industries.“
„We will sell Canada the best Polish military equipment,“ said W. Kosiniak-Kamysz at the Polish-Canadian defense industry forum where the agreement was announced.
According to the minister, Warsaw plans to sell equipment to Canada, including the drones „FlyEye“ and „Warmate,“ as well as the unmanned search and strike systems „Gladius“ – all produced by the private Polish defense company „WB Group.“
„This equipment is a symbol of Polish engineering and the development of the defense industry,“ added W. Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Speaking about joint military exercises planned in the cooperation agreement, the minister said: „Poland takes responsibility for the entire NATO, so I will send our soldiers to military exercises in the Arctic involving Poland, Canada, and broader NATO.“
The exercises will begin in a few months, he added.
It is expected that more cooperation agreements between Poland and Canada will be signed in September at the MSPO defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland, where Canada will be the main country. It is planned that both countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in cyber defense and broader security guarantees.
Poland has also been granted main country status at CANSEC, the largest Canadian defense exhibition, where W. Kosiniak-Kamysz is expected to participate on Wednesday.
Canada is the only non-EU country to join the EU’s €150 billion SAFE program, which aims to promote cooperation among participating states in defense and military spending.
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