While in the US capital last week, Emilewicz held talks at the State Department on a training program for Ukrainian officials to prepare them for accession negotiations with the European Union.
She also spoke to members of Congress and selected US think tanks. She says her message was clear: "such assistance is not only an element of building soft power in Ukraine, but it also helps prepare conditions and standards for Polish and Western businesses in the prospect of rebuilding the country," including through public procurement.
"What I tried to convey to our American partners was: please don't do it small, step by step, because Ukraine nowadays needs a strong decision with a huge armaments delivery to be able to push the Russians back," Emilewicz told Radio Poland's Danuta Isler after returning to Warsaw.
She added that "there is a strong conviction" among both think tanks and within the US administration that "the money must go because otherwise the payment in the next two, three, four years would be massively higher."
Click on the audio player above to hear the interview.