Poland’s Day for Veterans of Foreign Missions is commemorated annually on May 29, coinciding with the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
To mark the occasion, the Polish president laid a wreath at the Memorial to Soldiers Fallen During Missions and Military Operations Abroad, in the capital Warsaw, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak also laid a wreath at the monument close to the Veterans' Centre on Warsaw’s Puławska Street, the PAP news agency reported.
First observed in 2012, the Day for Veterans of Foreign Missions event commemorates Polish soldiers and civilian staff who served overseas, "whether to keep peace, stabilise the situation or support allies," according to officials.
In the past 70 years, Poland has participated in 92 missions abroad, said Maj. Katarzyna Rzadkowska, who heads the Veterans' Centre.
More than 120,000 troops and military personnel have featured in these operations, and there are currently over 29,000 veterans in Poland, including more than 800 injured, the PAP news agency reported.
At the moment, Poland contributes some 1,400 soldiers to various international operations run by the UN, NATO and the European Union, according to PAP.
Rzadkowska said: “These missions span the world, from the Korean peninsula through Haiti, Namibia, Egypt and Iraq to Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo and many other countries.”
She added that Poland’s record of 92 foreign missions over 70 years “shows that we are a credible and well-prepared ally when it comes to fulfilling international obligations,” the IAR news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, prezydent.pl
