Morawiecki made the remark at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Łask, central Poland, where F-16 and F-22 fighter jet pilots were taking part in NATO’s Air Shielding mission.
Morawiecki, along with Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and the US ambassador to Poland, paid a visit to the base on Monday morning.
At a press conference, the Polish prime minister said that “in the future we will want to have as large a part of the weapons produced in Poland as possible, but we know that such cooperation usually begins with joint purchases, often abroad.”
“Today, we are focusing on strengthening our army to lay down the conditions to defend not only Poland, but also our allies, in cooperation with our most powerful partners, first and foremost the United States,” Morawiecki said.
He extended his gratitude to America for its "loyal support" as a NATO ally, saying that the ongoing joint Air Shielding military exercise was an increasingly important "element of deterrence against a potential aggressor.”
The US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, said he was proud of how Poland has reacted, "as a government and as a people," to Russia's attack on Ukraine, helping its war-torn neighbour and accepting war refugees.
The US envoy added that Poland and America were "special friends," Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Poland has taken in nearly 7.25 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Polish Border Guard agency reported on Monday.
Warsaw last week sealed a deal to buy 288 self-propelled multiple rocket launchers from South Korea in the latest in a series of steps to strengthen Poland's armed forces in the wake of Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
The Polish defence minister said in July that his country was striving to build the strongest army among NATO members in Europe.
(pjm/gs)
Source: PAP, TVP Info