On 30 October 2008, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, met with the Speaker of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al-Ghurair, along with an 8-person parliamentary delegation accompanying him. The meeting was organised as part of Speaker Al-Ghurair’s visit to Poland at the invitation of Senate Speaker Bogdan Borusewicz.

        This first parliamentary visit from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is at the same time the highest order event in political relations to take place in Poland since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1989. This is reflected in the interest of the UAE authorities in continuing constructive dialogue and mutual cooperation, mainly in economic areas. UAE has become our leading trading partner in the Arab world (revenues in 2007 amounting to over 422m USD). This interest is confirmed by the decision taken by the UAE authorities regarding the need to open an embassy in Warsaw.

        During the meeting between Minister Radosław Sikorski and Speaker Al-Ghurair, alongside issues connected with the prospects for economic cooperation including potential UAE investment in Poland, issues connected with the political situation and threats resulting from the unstable situation across the Middle East were discussed.