During the event, the newly elected Polish President referred to the modernization of the Armed Forces, as the “obligation” of the Polish authorities, noting that there is a need of maintaining the capabilities of the Polish Army. President declared that he is going to maintain the cooperation with the Minister of Defence, within the scope of military modernization. Andrzej Duda also spoke about the Polish Army’s heritage, including references made to the anniversary of the First Cadre Company march, Battle of Warsaw of 1920, World War 2 and the Karbala fights which took place back in 2004.

Ceremony was also attended by the Polish Minister of Defence, Tomasz Siemoniak, who asked for support for the Armed Forces modernization process, improvement of service and life conditions for the soldiers, and for help for the Polish veterans. Minister of Defence recalled the fact that in 2016, Warsaw NATO summit is going to take place, and that during this event, the Polish authorities will be trying to set permanent NATO and US military presence in Mid-Eastern Europe. Siemoniak asked the President to support the above-listed efforts. Minister declared “on his behalf and on behalf of the government” that he is going to be open to full cooperation with Andrzej Duda, within the areas of security and defence.

The latter issue is the security, mainly the military security. The most important thing within that scope is to create a strong and well equipped Army. This is a very important task which is going to be realized throughout the upcoming years, since it is the basic guarantee of sovereignty, independence and safety of the Polish citizens.

In his speech made in front of the National Assembly, Andrzej Duda covered the issues related to security and modernization and expansion of the Polish Army. President indicated the fact that creating a “strong and well-equipped Polish Army” is the most important part of the above area. Duda announced that he is going to undertake cooperation with the Minister of Defence.

Andrzej Duda also covered the issues related to the bolstered NATO forces, within the context of the plans related to the Warsaw NATO summit. President noted that there is a need to increase the NATO military presence in Poland and in other Mid-Eastern European countries, stressing the fact that obtaining unambiguous warranties within that scope would require intensive efforts on the part of the Polish diplomacy.