Poland and Canada have agreed to deepen their defence ties, including bolstering military procurement from one another, greater cooperation between their defence industries, and jointly participating in military drills in the Arctic.
“You are an extremely important partner to us,” said Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz after signing a letter of intent with Canadian counterpart David McGuinty in Ottawa on Tuesday. “Transatlantic ties are not just about the Polish-US relationship. The Polish-Canadian relationship is taking on a new shape.”
Canada’s defence ministry said that the two sides have a “shared commitment to advancing Canada–Poland defence cooperation and strengthening allied security and resilience”, including “pursuing opportunities for greater cooperation between Canadian and Polish defence industries”.
This would involve “potential joint projects involving emerging defence technologies and discussions regarding the establishment of ammunition production capacity”, as well as cooperating under the EU’s SAFE programme, said the Canadian ministry.
SAFE is providing €150 billion in loans to EU member states to bolster defence spending, with Poland the largest recipient. Canada has an agreement with the EU for its firms to have preferential access and treatment for procurement under the programme.
Kosiniak-Kamysz also emphasised that cooperation would include “selling the best Polish equipment to Canada”, in particular drones produced by Polish defence firm WB group, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The defence minister also revealed that Poland would “send our soldiers to Polish-Canadian or, more broadly, NATO exercises in the Arctic” within the next few months.
Kosiniak-Kamysz travelled this week to Canada with a delegation that also included the government’s plenipotentiary for SAFE, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, deputy state assets minister Konrad Gołota, and defence industry representatives.
Speaking at a Polish-Canadian defence industry forum on Tuesday, Kosiniak-Kamysz warned that “the security situation is undergoing dynamic changes”, in particular as a result of “Russia’s aggressive policies”. That means “Poland and Canada need solutions that will meet these challenges”, he added.
Canada’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said that it “welcomed” Poland’s participation in CANSEC, a major defence, security and technology event being held this week. It added that Canada will reciprocate by taking part as a “lead nation” in Poland’s largest defence fair, which will be held in Kielce in September.
Kosiniak-Kamysz revealed that, during the Kielce event, more agreements are planned, including a memorandum of understanding about cooperation between the cybersecurity defence forces of both countries, as well as an “agreement on defence guarantees”, reports PAP.
Last year, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Warsaw to meet with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, the pair announced plans to “strengthen their alliance in energy, defence, aviation, and the fight against emerging threats”
Poland last year also signed a new treaty with France, upgrading their bilateral relations and defence ties. On Wednesday this week, a similar agreement is being signed with the UK. In April, during a visit to Asia, Tusk signed new comprehensive strategic partnership agreements with South Korea and Japan.
Those moves to strengthen international alliances have been combined with a major boost to defence spending, with Poland’s defence budget, at 4.8% of GDP, now the highest in NATO in relative terms.
Olivier Sorgho is senior editor at Notes from Poland, covering politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.
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