The United States and Poland have been close allies for just over 100 years. On June 24 of this year, President Trump, Secretary Brouillette and Poland’s President Duda met at the Whitehouse to discuss and sign an agreement further cementing that relationship.
Poland has taken over Germany’s role
This latest agreement increases U.S. infrastructure there as well as the number of rotational troops stationed there. Currently, there are roughly 4,500 rotational troops stationed in Poland. This agreement should increase that number by 1,000. Over the years, Poland has been replacing Germany as the center of NATO’s anti-Soviet defence in Europe. Poland is one of only a handful of countries meeting NATO’s goal of spending 2% of its GDP on defence, and it is actively working to keep its military modern.
Strength in energy diversity
But a prepared military is not the only way for increasing national security. Like the United States, their government realizes there is strength in diversity. National security is having diversity in energy sources, where those sources come from and how they get where they need to be. This means helping prevent Europe from becoming overly dependent on Russian oil and natural gas.
Therefore, the agreement signed in June also addresses nuclear power. The U.S. and Poland are working together to develop Poland’s peaceful use of nuclear energy. They hope to bring Poland’s nuclear program to the point of creating six to nine gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2043.
LNG from the U.S.
In the spirit of energy diversity, they are not going strictly nuclear. Over the years, Poland has signed several liquified natural gas (LNG) contracts with the U.S. totaling billions of dollars. Between 2018 and 2019, they signed commercial agreements with the U.S. increasing the importation of our LNG by more than 1000%. In 2023, Poland will be importing nearly half of its natural gas consumption from the United States.
National security is also protecting those energy sources. In 2018, the United States and Poland came together and held the first cybersecurity workshop. Lasting three days, it focused on the protection of energy-sector critical infrastructure. They were hoping to hold a second workshop either this year or next year. With the pandemic still a major issue, it should be safe to say the second workshop will most likely happen some time next year.
Poland: A loyal ally
We look forward to furthering the partnership. President Trump said, “Poland has chosen its place among the free and independent nations of the world and as a loyal ally and strategic partner of the United States.”
[…] Nuclear fusion is the same process powering the sun. According to Merrium-Webster, it is the fusing of two atomic nuclei to form a heavier nuclei, resulting in the release of an enormous amount of energy. Its opposite of nuclear fission, which is widely used today. Fission is the process of splitting atoms. This splitting releases heat energy that is in turn used to heat water and ultimately to create electricity. […]