January 14, 2008

President Walesa’s visit to Israel and Palestine

On January 12, 2008, President Lech Walesa began his four-day trip to Israel. The visit is connected with the President’s participation in the economic seminar entitled “Making the Right Connections in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe” organized by UniCredit CA IB Polska and the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The visit will end on January 16, 2008.

Yesterday President Lech Walesa visited Bethlehem, where he attended Mass in St. Jerome’s Grotto in the Basilica of the Nativity and visited places which are connected with the birth of Jesus according to Christian tradition.

In the afternoon, President Walesa met in Ramallah with the President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas and in Jerusalem with President of Israel Shimon Peres.

During the meeting in the capital of the Palestinian National Authority, Lech Walesa had the opportunity to acquaint himself with evaluations of US President George W. Bush’s visit, which ended two days earlier, and to discuss issues connected with the ongoing peace process and the formation of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. During a nearly hour-long discussion the Presidents talked about possible scenarios and prospects connected with the new American initiative. They both expressed their hopes for peace, but also worry about the stability of the agreements formed for political reasons. President Abbas expressed his hope that Lech Walesa will join in the efforts for peace in the region and thanked him for his activity, among others, for his attempt to support the Geneva Initiative.

During a private half-hour meeting in Jerusalem, Presidents Lech Walesa and Shimon Peres exchanged thoughts on the progress of peace talks and touched upon the American President’s initiative. Another topic they discussed was a comparison of the situation in the region and the processes happening in Europe. Both Presidents entertain great hopes regarding the ongoing process of European integration, development of science and technology, and the chances resulting from common access to education of the younger generation together with their new perspective in looking at the world.

During the meeting – another one in a series of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates’ meetings – President Walesa expressed his hope that Shimon Peres will this year come to Poland, which is the country of his birth. His hope is that President Peres will visit Poland not only in the spring of 2008, but also in December for the planned celebrations of the 25th anniversary of awarding him and “Solidarity” the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.

In the evening a seminar was held in Tel Aviv for about 150 representatives of the Israeli businesses and journalists writing about the economy, during which President Walesa, the Polish Ambassador Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska and the President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange Ludwik Sobolewski spoke.

Planned for the next days of the visit are statements for the Israeli media, meetings with President Walesa in the Polish Embassy, a visit to Yad Vashem, meeting with its Chairman, Mr. Avner Shalev, and visiting the holy places in Jerusalem.