Polish Secretary of State: Polish Cooperation with Kaliningrad Can Be 'Laboratory' for Partnerships with Other Russian Regions

The leadership of the Warmia-Mazury region in Poland wants to use improved Polish-Russian relations to help develop the region. According to Rosbalt's correspondent, this announcement was made to journalists in Warsaw on Wednesday by Stanislav Shatkovsky, the head of the Warmia-Mazury regional administration.

Warmia-Mazury is the only Polish region to share a border with the Kaliningrad Region. The Russian-Polish border, which is also the border between the Warmia-Mazury and Kaliningrad regions, is 210 kilometres long. It has three border crossing points for road traffic and one for rail traffic. According to Shatkovsky, this number is nowhere near adequate: at least ten crossings are needed, with as many as 25 in the future. The regional authorities have managed to gain funding from the national budget and the EU to develop the region's infrastructure. This will allow them to create the necessary conditions for international cooperation and to attract investors. As examples, Shatkovsky named the project to build a new crossing point near the town of Goldal, and the modernisation of the Polish-Russian section of the N 22 road.

Polish Secretary of State Tadeusz Iwinski, who was present at the press conference, suggested that cooperation with the Kaliningrad Region could become a laboratory for developing Polish cooperation with other Russian regions.