On the second day of his visit to Australia, President Andrzej Duda, during a Sunday meeting with representatives of the Polish community in Keysborough near Melbourne, thanked them for cultivating the Polish spirit and promoting the good image of Poland.
"It is a moment of great satisfaction for me that in the year of Poland's independence centenary I can meet with you here on the other side of the world," Duda said at a meeting with the Polish diaspora. He pointed out that over 180,000 people with Polish roots lived in Australia, of which over 56,000 in the state of Victoria, whose largest city is Melbourne.
The Polish president said that the members of the Polish diaspora, though they have lived in Australia for generations, "still remained Poles." "Although you are often Australian citizens, you probably have the feeling of having two homelands: the homeland of your parents, grandparents and your homeland here on the antipodes," Duda noted.
"Thank you for being Poles, (...) for living in our customs and culture," the president continued. "Thank you for the fact that people here respect Poland and respect Poles," he added.
Andrzej Duda also thanked Polish teachers and Polish priests for their contribution to cultivating the Polish spirit.
The Polish president emphasised that Poland was developing and Poles were getting wealthier. "I believe that when you come to Poland, you will be able to look at it with satisfaction and think about coming back," he said.
As Andrzej Duda added, according to estimates, around 20 million Poles lived abroad. "This is a gigantic capital, you are a gigantic capital that has gone away, capital in many meanings of the word - human capital and people with a capital," he said.
At the meeting, the president also presented state awards to Polish citizens living in Australia, as well as to Australian citizens who rendered outstanding services to the Polish community in the country.
The meeting with the Polish diaspora in Keysborough was the last point of President Duda's visit to the state of Victoria. On Sunday evening, the presidential couple are leaving for Canberra, where on Monday they will be officially welcomed by the Governor-General of Australia, Peter Cosgrove. Duda will also meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and other officials.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, PAP