[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 5 (Monday, February 2, 2004)]
[Pages 150-151]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The Polish-American Alliance for the 21st Century: Joint Statement by 
President George W. Bush and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski

January 27, 2004

    As partners in building a Europe whole, free, and at peace at the 
end of the 20th century, Poland and the United States will continue to 
work together, and with our European friends and allies, to achieve a 
more secure, prosperous, and just world in the 21st century. Today, we 
pledge to deepen the strategic alliance that joins our two nations, an 
alliance rooted in shared values and a common struggle for freedom.
    The foundation of Polish and American security remains the NATO 
Alliance, which will maintain its mission to defend its members in the 
face of new challenges. We welcome Poland's pending entry into the 
European Union, and affirm that NATO and the EU must work together for 
the common good of their members and the world. We are determined to 
strengthen transatlantic relations, forging renewed unity, and acting in 
common purpose on the many challenges before us. We will do so at the 
June NATO Summit in Istanbul, where we will celebrate a united, enlarged 
Alliance of 26 nations in strategic partnership with an enlarged EU, 
cooperating with Russia and Ukraine, and preparing to handle the 
security challenges of our time. We will work together to promote 
democratic and free market reforms in wider Europe, particularly in 
Ukraine and Georgia, as they strive to strengthen their integration with 
the Euro-Atlantic community.
    We commit our nations to an ambitious goal, rooted in our shared 
values and experience: to promote freedom, democracy, human dignity, 
economic opportunity, and security cooperation in the Greater Middle

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East. Our joint efforts in the war on terrorism, in Afghanistan, and in 
Iraq, are essential for the security of our people today. Yet over the 
long term, the growth of freedom is vital to unraveling the nexus of 
threats posed by terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, tyranny, the 
lack of opportunity, and violent extremism.
    Today, American and Polish soldiers are serving bravely in a just 
struggle against terrorists and in the international effort to bring 
peace, security, and freedom to Afghanistan and Iraq. We thank them for 
their dedication and sacrifice.
    We agree on the importance of the rapid reconstruction of a 
sovereign Iraq with democratic institutions and respecting the rule of 
law. We welcome the widespread international support for this process, 
and in particular, recognize the vital and growing role the United 
Nations should play in these efforts.
    Polish-American military cooperation since 1989 has proven its 
value, and we have agreed to increase this cooperation. Poland is 
embarking on a comprehensive transformation program to modernize its 
armed forces, strengthening its ability to respond with the United 
States to global challenges. The United States supports this program. In 
particular, we remain committed to the goals of the U.S.-Polish Defense 
Transformation Initiative, and the United States will provide new 
assistance to Poland in acquiring C-130 military transport aircraft, 
which will increase the effectiveness and mobility of Polish 
capabilities.
    We note with satisfaction the growing support worldwide for our 
shared efforts to implement the Proliferation Security Initiative, 
announced by President Bush in Krakow in May 2003, and we agree to 
enhance cooperation in bioterrorist attack prevention in Central and 
Eastern Europe.
    Poland and the United States are growing partners in trade and 
investment, which will grow even faster as Poland continues to improve 
its business climate. The sale of U.S. combat-proven fighter aircraft to 
Poland marks an important opportunity to increase defense industry ties 
and other forms of industrial cooperation and investment. We welcome the 
interest of Polish firms in participating in the reconstruction of Iraq. 
To facilitate this participation, building on the recent visit of U.S. 
Commerce Secretary Evans to Poland, the United States will send experts 
to Poland to provide information on the Iraq reconstruction process and 
procurement opportunities to Polish firms. In addition, the United 
States will also establish in Poland a regional center to provide 
information on an ongoing basis regarding Iraqi reconstruction.
    We support contacts between our societies and travel between our 
countries by our peoples. The United States recognizes that security 
concerns are imposing inconveniences on legitimate travelers. To improve 
the ease and safety of such travel, the United States will establish in 
Warsaw a program to pre-screen visitors traveling from Poland to the 
United States. We agree to hold regular, High-Level Working Group 
consultations starting at an early date to discuss ways to enhance 
travel security and facilitate travel for Polish and American citizens. 
We look forward as well to enactment of a U.S. temporary worker program 
that will provide new opportunities to Poles, among others, to work in 
the United States.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement.