Andrzej Duda and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke on Wednesday evening in the northwestern city of Braga, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
EU candidate status for Ukraine
The two leaders discussed Ukraine and its chances of obtaining EU candidate status, officials said.
The meeting was part of Duda’s campaign to lobby EU partners to grant this status to Poland’s southeastern neighbour.
Food security, migration
The Polish and Portuguese presidents also talked about the prospect of a global food crisis caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, reporters were told.
Another issue under discussion were the migration repercussions of the war in Ukraine, according to officials.
“It’s important that the countries of southern Europe understand our perspective and we understand theirs,” said Jakub Kumoch, top foreign-policy aide to President Duda.
Meetings with Portuguese PM, Italian president
On Thursday, the Polish head of state is due to discuss Ukraine’s EU bid with the Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, before travelling to Rome for talks with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella.
He was to be accompanied in southern Europe by the Slovakian head of state, officials said. However, Zuzana Čaputová was unable to travel after contracting the coronavirus.
B9 summit in Bucharest
On Friday, Duda is set to attend a summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) countries in the Romanian capital. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will also take part in the meeting.
The B9 brings together countries lying on the eastern flank of NATO: Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.
Thursday is day 106 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, prezydent.pl