Poland\'s Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf meets with Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland

19 marca, 2013

Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf met with Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland on March 14th, 2013 to congratulate her on becoming the first woman in either Chamber to lead the Appropriations Committee and to thank her for always leading on issues related to the strengthening of the Polish-US relationship.

This was Ambassador Schnepf’s second meeting with Senator Mikulski. He first met with the Senator several years ago as a member of Poland’s former Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek’s official Delegation to Washington to celebrate Poland’s accession into NATO, an effort Senator Mikulski championed from the start in the United States Senate.

Ambassador Schnepf once again thanked Senator Mikulski for supporting NATO enlargement at a time when many didn’t believe it was possible and expressed his gratitude that today the Senator is supporting reforming the visa waiver program with the same fervor. The Senator reaffirmed her commitment to including Poland in the Visa Waiver Program and working in a bipartisan and bicameral manner to finally bring meaningful legislation to the President’s desk that will include Poland among the ranks of its fellow EU Member States currently in the program.

The discussion also focused on other pillars of cooperation between the United States and Poland where there continues to be great potential for growth—these included national security and economic security. Senator Mikulski was eager to hear from Ambassador Schnepf about Poland’s ongoing economic success within the EU. The discussion provided an opportunity for the Ambassador to highlight how well Poland has and continues to weather the financial crisis, stressing the numerous opportunities that are available to American corporations seeking to benefit from foreign capital, particularly in areas of defense and energy.

Senator Mikulski and Ambassador Schnepf agreed to remain in regular contact and to working together in educating other Senators about the importance of reforming the VWP program so that people to people links between the United States and Poland continue to grow. Before concluding the meeting, Ambassador Schnepf presented Senator Mikulski with a unique espresso cup with Chopin’s musical notes engraved on it as a memento of their first meeting on Capitol Hill.

http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/media/pressrelease/2-4-2013.cfm