WARSAW, June 21 (Xinhua) -- British Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson said Thursday Poland's security was a very close matter for Britain following a meeting of Polish and British foreign and defence ministers in Warsaw, referring to the presence of British troops in Poland.
The meeting was attended by Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, as well as their British counterparts Williamson and Boris Johnson.
At a joint press conference following the meeting, Williamson stated that Poland and Britain had a long tradition of cooperation. He expressed hope that new areas of cooperation could be developed between the two countries in future.
"We will try to create new jobs and prosperity for our countries, combine the efforts of experts and the best specialists," Polish Press Agency quoted Williamson as saying.
Poland's Defense Minister Blaszczak said that the presence of British troops in Poland and their training with Polish soldiers helped raise the country's defence potential. He added that the talks also concerned bilateral cooperation between Poland and Britain as well as within NATO, and these relations were "exemplary."
Referring to the topics of Thursday's talks - preparations for the NATO summit in Brussels, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and maintaining the ban on chemical weapons - British
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Secretary Boris Johnson said that in all these areas Great Britain and Poland spoke with one voice and walked shoulder to shoulder.
Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz announced during the joint press conference that Polish-British intergovernmental consultations will be held this autumn. He added that the several-hour talks focused on defence and security issues and "aimed at sharing opinions and expectations regarding the July NATO summit."
