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Bloomberg
President Donald Trump was expected to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday in his first encounter with a foreign leader since the coronavirus pandemic prompted global lockdowns in March, in a visit both leaders hope provides a political boost for looming elections.
The Polish president is travelling to Washington just days before he seeks re-election in the hope he can secure a fresh commitment from Trump to deploy additional US military forces in his Eastern European nation. Consummating a defense pact may help Duda reverse a narrative that he’s struggled in his quest to get thousands of American troops stationed near the border with Russia.
Trump, who has long seen the nationalist Polish leader as a kindred spirit, is hoping the visit can signal a return to normalcy even as the coronavirus continues to ravage swaths of America.
The American president has seen his political support erode as the outbreak claimed more than 121,000 American lives and collapsed the economy.
He’s recently filled his schedule with travel and high-profile events in an effort to move past the pandemic.
The discussion between the presidents will include health security, 5G technology, and the “Three Seas Initiative†intended to integrate Eastern European energy, transportation, and technology infrastructure, according to three US officials who requested anonymity to discuss the meeting beforehand. The three seas are the Baltic, the Black and the Adriatic, including countries not in the European Union.
Polish and US officials also plan to work on the final elements of a defense cooperation agreement that would see the US Air Force rotating an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron into Poland and establish an aerial port for troops and equipment.
Duda saw his popularity jump in April as the face of the government’s Covid relief efforts.