"This is an important moment for discussions about the permanent presence of US troops in Poland, but also about potential threats from Russia to NATO's eastern flank," Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday in an interview with Polish private broadcaster Polsat News.
He said his talks with Hegseth would cover Poland's security as well as a proposed PAC-3 missile service centre in Poland. The facility would service missiles used by Patriot launchers.
"It is an important matter; technology transfers are not easy these days," Kosiniak-Kamysz told Polsat News, adding that Poland and Germany were in the final stage of discussions.
He estimated Poland's chances of securing the facility at 50 percent.
Asked whether the meeting was a response to an escalation in Russian attacks on Ukraine near Poland's border in recent days, Kosiniak-Kamysz said the visit had been planned for several weeks.
He said he last spoke with Hegseth in July at the NATO summit in Ankara, where they agreed to meet again in the coming months.
Asked whether Washington understands the threats facing NATO's eastern flank, Kosiniak-Kamysz said he had "a full sense of the United States' awareness of what Poland is dealing with today."
Asked whether President Donald Trump shared that assessment, particularly in light of his remarks calling on Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil facilities, Kosiniak-Kamysz said: "I do not share that view."
Kosiniak-Kamysz said in the interview that the rotational presence of US troops in Poland could become permanent "in a matter of weeks."
He said a review of the US military presence in Europe, being conducted by the Pentagon under Hegseth, was expected to conclude around November or December, or by early January at the latest.
"The timetable keeps being pushed back, so I am giving myself some leeway," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
He added that Polish and US officials responsible for security had met several times over the past week.
"We are investing heavily in this to show our capabilities and our skills," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, arguing that "Poland offers the best conditions" for stationing US troops.
"Poland is ready to bear the financial costs of investing in its security through a permanent US military presence," he said. "Nobody else in Europe offers this to the same extent."
A US delegation visited Poland last week, including Thomas DiNanno, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, and William Cappelletti, deputy assistant secretary of defence for European and NATO policy.
The talks covered the permanent presence of US troops in Poland, the proposed Patriot missile service centre and potential joint Polish-US investment projects in the defence industry.
Polish deputy defence ministers also briefed the US delegation on Poland's defence industry and potential locations for a permanent US military presence.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said the cost of such investment on the Polish side would amount to PLN 15 billion to PLN 17 billion (EUR 3.9 billion, USD 4.5 billion).
Kosiniak-Kamysz said in June that the Pentagon was open to Poland's proposal for a permanent US military presence and that the talks had been moving forward.
At the NATO summit in Ankara in July, Poland signed an agreement with the United States, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden on the servicing of PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems in Europe. Negotiations are underway to locate the service centre in Poland.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said Trump does not need convincing to increase the US military presence in Poland.
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Source: IAR/PAP