Poland to Create Council on Cooperation with Ukraine

Poland is set to create a new Council for Cooperation with Ukraine focused on the reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, said Paweł Kowal, a Polish politician slated to chair the council.

“The Prime Minister has already signed the order, the Council for Cooperation with Ukraine will be established, the Prime Minister has appointed me as its chairman.

“It will be a social body that will include representatives of science, business, government and local government administration. This composition will be assembled in the coming weeks,” Kowal told Polish news outlet PAP.

Kowal said the idea is to create an institution that will “approach Polish-Ukrainian relations in a more comprehensive way” by attracting as many Polish companies, local governments and non-governmental organizations as possible.

According to Kowal, work is underway to organize the teams under the council, but it will have its own office to coordinate different aspects of reconstruction work for Ukraine that would involve Polish citizens from different sectors.

“We want to create an institution that will operate comprehensively. It will also cooperate on a permanent basis with the Polish Economic Institute and the Center for Eastern Studies,” said Kowal.

Kowal added that there are plans to open a branch in the Podkarpacie province bordering Ukraine to foster cross-border cooperation.