SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: Well, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister and your team, thank you for being here. Welcome back to the Pentagon. Before we get started, as I mentioned, we talked about it a little bit in the hallway, too. I want to extend my condolences to the Polish people after Saturday's mass shooting in what I understand is your hometown of Krakow. Six people lost their lives, and they are in our thoughts and prayers. I want you to know that.Â
This relationship between the United States and Poland remains rock solid and rooted in shared strategic interests and history. Poland remains and is a model for other NATO countries to follow. And when we say that we mean it. Under President Trump's leadership, NATO is transforming into NATO 3.0, a real alliance focused on hard power and real deterrence, which is something Poland has understood for a long time. The remainder of the alliance is coming along.Â
NATO 3.0 means European led conventional defense that refocuses on warfighting and credible deterrence for denial defense of allied territory. And Poland continues to lead by example, whether it's committing to nearly 5 percent of GDP to defense, and translating that investment into ready forces and sustained combat power. Poland is building one of the most formidable armies in Europe, ready to secure and defend its territory.
Securing your borders and securing your country are fundamental to the sovereignty of a nation, and Poland is doing that. Through historic investments in Abrams tanks, F-35s, Apache helicopters, Patriot systems, you are fielding a fully modernized, interoperable force. And our two nations are also, I think we'll talk a lot about this today, giving military cooperation, industrial depth as well, moving into industrial cooperation.Â
We're establishing maintenance and repair hubs together, including a Patriot regional maintenance facility for PAC-3 interceptors, which Poland has recently been selected to host and we're proud of that. We're expanding component production lines and exploring co-production for critical munitions, which both our countries need.
We're cutting red tape to deliver lethal capability to our warriors at scale and at speed, which is the president's demand of us. And today, we're taking the next steps in our alliance even further. The Deputy Prime Minister and I will sign a statement of intent to increase bilateral defense, industrial cooperation, scale and speed in real time.
So, thank you for your leadership, your friendship â Poland is the â you were the first person I visited in this job, and we have remained friends since in close communication on a regular basis. And you have shown a dedication to peace through strength and we're proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Look forward to our discussion today. Thank you.
WLADYSLAW KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ: Â Thank you, Mr. Secretary. And I would like to thank you for the invitation and for maintaining our mutual ties. It's a great pleasure and honor to be your guest at the Pentagon once again. We have had the opportunity to speak several times this year. Our cooperation is multi-dimensional and very effective. I consider you a true advocate of the Polish American alliance within the US administration.Â
I would like to thank you for your commitment to the process of implementing President Donald Trump's declaration on the deployment of additional 5,000 soldiers to the territory of the Republic of Poland. Representatives of the Pentagon and the Polish Ministry of National Defense are conducting a fruitful dialog on strengthening the American permanent military presence in our country.
I am convinced that the details will be announced publicly very soon. We are very grateful for the trust and the announcement of the selection of Poland as the host nation for the European Patriot Advanced Capability Missile Maintenance Facility two weeks ago, as you said. This historic decision means a lot for Poland but is also of key importance for the security of NATO's eastern flank.
It demonstrates the strength of the transatlantic bond, our serious approach to investing in defense capabilities and to assuming greater responsibility for the security of our continent by the European allies. Today, we will sign a statement of intent on strengthening defense industry cooperation that will pave the way for future projects.
Our joint investment translates into a significant strengthening of defense potential and the practical implementation of the secure theory of victory and fight to night paradigm, as well as NATO 3.0 concept. We treat the choice of Poland as the location for the maintenance center, as a prelude of the further joint initiatives in strengthening our cooperation in the development of our country's defense industries.
There is significant potential for these activities. Its implementation is essential today to maintain the technological military advantage enabling effective deterrence. In recent years, American soldiers have accompanied and supported us in the profound transformation of armed forces. This year, we reach another breakthrough moment in the expansion of our interoperability with the deliveries of F-35s to Poland.
Ten of these aircraft are already in our country; we are really proud of that. We meet in a period marked by challenges and threats. Russia's aggression against Ukraine is not weakening. On the contrary, it's gaining strength, also towards members of NATO.Â
We are not standing still. As you said, Poland spends nearly 5 percent of GDP on defense, expands the defense industry and consistently provides armed forces of the Republic of Poland with necessary capabilities. The core of the purchases consists of American made weapon systems. Dear secretary, dear Pete, these are the goals of my visit â to further deepen our relations by expanding the permanent presence of US troops in Poland and strengthening ties in the area of defense industrial base.
This will be a practical fulfillment of arrangements we made last February in Warsaw. I'm convinced that our conversation today brings us closer to the implementation of this joint project. Thank you for the invitation.
SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: Â Thank you. We share those goals 100 percent. Thank you very much.
WLADYSLAW KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ: Â Thank you very much.
SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: Â Thank you.
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